The School of Creative and Performing Arts is part of the Faculty of Arts.
For more information concerning program regulations and requirements, refer to the Faculty of Arts. For contact information or current events, refer to the School of Creative and Performing Arts.
The School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) provides both rigorous and distinct disciplinary programs and uncommon opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration. Hosting programs in Dance, Drama and Music, the SCPA provides students a range of options for specialization and innovation, both within and across its participating divisions.
Dance provides a four-year BA (Dance) degree and a four-year BFA (Dance) degree that explores dance from multiple perspectives, as well as a five-year combined BKIN/BA degree that highlights the relationships between the sciences, arts and humanities and a five-year Concurrent Program with the Werklund School of Education that combines a Bachelor of Education with a BA Dance with a concentration in Dance Pedagogy. Students delve into choreography, performance, technique, improvisation, dance for the camera, dance science, global dance, history, and theory in order to understand the place of dance in the twenty-first century. From ballet to contact improvisation, hip hop to contemporary, dance at the University of Calgary helps students gain in-depth experience as well as a broad understanding of a range of cultural forms. With emphasis on both practice and analysis, our program is designed to prepare graduates for careers in professional performance, choreography, scholarship, and education, as well as further dance study in graduate programs.
Drama offers a four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree comprised of a broad curriculum including: acting, directing, scenography, playwriting, performance creation, drama education, theatre history and dramatic literature and criticism. The program allows the student to tailor their degree to their interests and their desired career path. Drama also offers a five-year concurrent BFA/BED degree with the Werklund School of Education. Many of our courses are available to non-Drama students and can contribute to an elective requirement.
Music offers a four-year Bachelor of Music (BMus) Degree that is designed for students wishing to enter a professional career in music, as performers, teachers, composers, sound designers, theorists, historians or musicologists. The BMus degree provides the opportunity for students to Major in Performance, Composition or Integrated Studies. In addition there is a major in Music Education that is available in the context of a five-year concurrent BMus/Bachelor of Education degree for students wishing to pursue the Secondary Route. Students wishing to pursue the Elementary Route should complete a BA Music/Bachelor of Education degree. All BMus programs have a common first year.
Music also offers four-year programs leading to Bachelor of Arts (Music) and Honours Bachelor of Arts (Music) degrees for the student who wishes to pursue a general liberal arts education with an emphasis on Music. It is an ideal degree for students who are interested in music but may wish to pursue careers in law, medicine, arts administration, media studies, elementary education, digital arts, and so on. In addition to music courses, BA (Music) students have the flexibility to take a large number of courses outside of the field of Music, allowing them to create degree plans that cater to their individual interests and needs.
In addition to the three discipline-specific divisions, the School of Creative and Performing Arts provides unique opportunities for interdisciplinary instruction and collaboration. Specifically, there is one interdisciplinary course required of all students enrolled in a major program in SCPA. This course provides both theoretical and practical instruction in interdisciplinary exchange and creative process. Beyond this required course SCPA students enjoy a wide range of special topics electives and extra-curricular opportunities that explore a variety of interdisciplinary practices and subject material.