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World Arts and Cultures

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Undergraduate Admissions

Degree - Cultural Studies, Dance - B.A.

Step 1 - Complete the UC Application
Students who wish to apply to the School of the Arts and Architecture (Architecture and Urban Design, Art, Design | Media Arts, Ethnomusicology, Music, or World Arts and Cultures) must complete the University of California's Application for Undergraduate Admissions. Students may apply directly online or download the application from the University of California website. If you currently attend high school in California you can get a paper copy of the UC Undergraduate Application for Admission and Scholarships from your counselor. Anyone else in California can get an application from a local UC campus or community college counseling office. If you are outside California, you must use one of the Web-based options. For more information, please contact the UCLA Undergraduate Admissions Office at (310) 825-3101.

Step 2 – Department of World Arts and Cultures - Supplemental Requirements
(DO NOT complete the supplemental requirements without first completing the UC Application in step one.)
After the UC Application has been filed, applicants will be sent a World Arts and Cultures supplemental application for either the Dance Concentration or for the Cultural Studies Concentration. in December either by mail or email. The supplemental application will include the following specific departmental requirements:

  • Questionnaire
  • Audition (Dance Applicants) - Students who are interested in the Dance concentration are required to attend an audition. In the event you are unable to attend the audition in person, we do accept videotape presentations (VHS format only). The tape should be no more than four minutes long. At the beginning of the tape, please introduce yourself and describe what we will be seeing. You may show studio or in-performance work. Please include a one-minute piece of your own choreography in a style most comfortable to you.
  • Recommendations - Two letters of recommendation commenting on your academic ability and involvement in the arts and/or related cultural work. These letters may be included with your return packet or sent to us directly by your recommenders.
  • Transcripts - These may be unofficial, but should cover all coursework to date.

We ask all applicants to include supporting materials you feel might best represent you in ways that might not be revealed through your academic record.

  • Include written material such as a research paper you have done for a class.
  • Include a copy of the essay you submitted with your UC application.
  • (optional) You may also choose to include a short story, collection of poems, or visual materials such as photographs of artwork, designs, CD, or video work you have created. Photographic images should be in the form of prints or copies of prints (no slides, please).

We recommend that the material(s) submitted not exceed an 8-by-11-inch format, and that any loose pages be marked plainly with your name. Please include a short written statement indicating any source or inspiration that led you to create the work(s) you will be sending us. Although every effort is made to protect these submissions, applicants are urged to keep duplicate copies of all work submitted.

Students are accepted into the department based upon evidence of creative talent and academic achievement. A faculty committee recommends admission decisions. Successful candidates must also meet eligibility requirements for the University of California.

Step 3 - Official Notification
Freshman applicants are notified in March of their admissions status; transfer applicants receive notification April.

Admitted Freshman must notify the University of their plans to attend the School of the Arts and Architecture by no later than May 1; admitted transfer students must notify the University by June 1.

Graduate Admissions

Degrees -
Cultural and Performance - M.A., Ph.D.
Dance - M.F.A.

A complete outline of admissions and degree requirements, are available on the World Arts and Cultures website and accessible on the Graduate Division web page.

The Department of World Arts and Cultures accepts applications for the fall quarter only. Admission to the department is based on acceptance by the UCLA Graduate Division and a faculty review of the applicant's work. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree from an acceptable institution, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the last two years of upper-division coursework.

The UCLA Application for Graduate Admission is due by December 15.

Supplemental Requirements -
(To be completed after the application for graduate admissions has been filed)

  • Biographical/Purpose Statement
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Official transcripts - (in duplicate) from each college or university at which work has been completed
  • Sample Paper (Culture and Performance ONLY) - a research or term paper (for the M.A. program) or Master's thesis or substantial research paper (for the Ph.D. program), as well as evidence of other creative work relevant to the degree program.
  • Audition (M.F.A. Dance Applicants ONLY) –Applicants are asked to submit three pieces of work (approximately 15 minutes total): present one live solo performance at the audition; the remainder should be on videotape, and should include a group piece (trio or larger). It is preferred that one piece not include the applicant/choreographer in the performance. The choreography should show a range of approaches to movement, thematic development, and originality of ideas.
  • GRE (Culture and Performance) - General Test of the Graduate Record Examination, sent directly by the testing agency to our Department (select Dept Code 2499), is also required.
  • International Applicants - Students whose native language is not English are required to submit scores received on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) as part of their application. A TOEFL score of at least 560 on the written exam (220 on the computer-based test), or an IELTS Overall Band score of at least 7.0 are the minimum requirements for applicants.

*In addition, students whose native language is not English must take the English as a Second Language Placement Examination (ESLPE) on arrival at UCLA and, beginning in their first term in residence, take any English as a Second Language courses needed as determined by the results of the ESPLE. Because such courses may not be applied toward the minimum course requirement, students who are required to take them should expect to spend additional time at the University.

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