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Graduate Program in Dance (MFA) Faculty of Graduate Studies
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Degree Requirements

Academic requirements for our graduate program can be found at the Faculty of Graduate Studies—Program Requirements.

This student-centred intensive five-term program requires that you, with other graduate students from a wide range of disciplines and diverse skill sets, form collaborative teams, successfully creating, producing and presenting your own work. The program will provide you with the theoretical and technical knowledge necessary to create multi-disciplinary performance art. You will find encouragement for the integration of digital media and leading-edge interactive technologies with live performances from both the faculty and your fellow students. The MFA in Dance is a full-time program of study completed by Thesis only.

MFA Degree Requirements

First-year graduate students will participate in courses that focus on choreography, collaborative creation, movement observation, and technology in support of live performance, as well as one elective course.

Required Courses

Students are required to successfully complete the following courses:

  • Dance 5221 3.0: The Interactive Stage Explorations in Electronically Mediated Performances
  • Dance 5260 3.0: Dance Video and Intermedial Performance
  • Dance 5270 3.0: Lighting Design for Dance I
  • Dance 5300 3.0: Methods and Materials for Movement Observation
  • Dance 5501 3.0: Initiating, Forming and Performing Choreography I
  • Dance 5602 0.0: Dance Production (non-credit)

During the fall term of their second year, students will be required to register and participate in:

  • Dance 6003 0.0: Contemporary Choreography Professional Qualifying Practica I (Fall) (non-credit)

Over the year, guided by your supervisor and a faculty project coordinator, you will live the experience of collaborative creation. Early in your final term, your team’s work will be presented to the public. Your research and creative process will be self-examined and contextualized through a thesis (extended research paper) to be submitted to your ‘Oral Exam Committee.’ After the formal submission of the thesis, an oral examination focused equally on the thesis and related collaborative creation project, will be held. (Master’s Thesis Guidelines—Faculty of Graduate Studies)

  • Students must prepare a thesis proposal in consultation with their supervisor and GPD. The proposal should contain a brief statement in non-technical language on the purpose of the thesis research, its relationship to existing work in the area, and the contribution which the researcher hopes to make to the advancement of knowledge in the field. The proposal should include a working title and the name of the supervisor and supervisory committee members. The recommended maximum length of a proposal is 3,500 words. Examples of proposals and completed Theses are available for review in the program offices.
  • The thesis proposal, accompanied by the Supervisor & Supervisory Committee Approval form, the TD1: Thesis/Dissertation Research Proposal form with all required signatures, and any necessary accompanying Research Ethics forms, must be submitted to the department by the end of the Winter term of the first year (end of term 2 of 5). Students spend terms 3, 4, and 5 conducting research and working on their thesis.
  • Once completed, they must submit the thesis either electronically as a PDF document, or as two unbound hard copies to their supervisor and the department. These are graded on a Pass/Fail basis. Once the supervisor and supervisory committee have approved the thesis, the Recommendation for Oral Examination form must be submitted to the program office 20 business days before the date of the Exam.
  • All degree requirements (completed thesis, successful oral examination) must be met by the final day of the Winter Term Examination period of the student’s 5th and final term. Students must therefore be mindful of their academic progress to ensure that sufficient time is allotted for the completion of all the steps required for a successful thesis. The student will not be eligible to graduate until the Oral Examination Report and the following Revisions Approved Memorandum have been sent to, and cleared by, FGS, and the Completion Memo has subsequently been forwarded to the program office by FGS.

All Dance MFA students are required to participate in a physical practice designed to facilitate their understanding of the body and further their creative research. This is a compulsory, non-credit requirement in the spirit of professional dancers taking daily morning classes. It is imperative that students develop physical practices that support their particular aesthetics. In consultation with their thesis supervisor, students will determine their own discipline and maintain, document and report on their practice throughout their studies. They may choose to take classes in the Department’s undergraduate program, or study with a particular mentor or master teacher, or take classes with other professional dancers within any of Toronto’s diverse dance traditions. Normally students will devote one to two hours daily to their physical practice and meet once a month with their supervisor to discuss their progress.

MFA students are required to attend eight colloquia or workshops over the five terms of their study. Colloquia topics may include:

  • Ethics in Dance Research and Creation
  • Dance and Human Rights
  • Making Dance Films
  • Dance Science and the Expressive Body
  • Preventing Injury and Encouraging Risk
  • Teaching Dance to a Diverse Student Body
  • Financing Dance and Living Above the Poverty Line
  • Time Management and Stress: Strategies for Health
  • Dancing with Older Bodies
  • Designing Dance – lighting/costumes/makeup
  • Choreography for and with Children
  • Dance with Diverse Ability
  • Communities of Dance
  • Copyright Laws and Dance

Various studio workshops in such things as Alternative Bodywork, Social Dance, Butoh, and Physical Theatre as well as classes with guests from Toronto’s many master teachers from various cultures.

Learn More

The Graduate Program in Dance at York is an exciting environment to pursue innovative, socially engaging, career-ready education. Contact our Graduate Program Assistant to learn more.

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