Undergraduate Overview

Wide view of stage production.

Photo by Ken Smith.

The Department of Theatre and Dance at the University at Buffalo engages emerging artists, scholars, and audiences dedicated to sustaining and innovating the performing arts across disciplines. Our diverse programs integrate rigorous training, critical understanding, and impassioned creation supported by close faculty mentorship and developed in collaboration with internationally recognized guest artists. 

Learning within conservatory style courses and grounded in the liberal arts, students acquire the essential skills for effective communication, collaborative problem-solving, and critical perspective in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world. The Department’s production season of fully produced plays, musicals, dance concerts, and experimental performance work is integral to the training of new artists, and provides an essential cultural resource for the larger campus community. Our training prepares students for professional careers in the performing arts, while fostering thoughtful individuals prepared to engage in the global discussions of the 21st century.

UB Theatre and Dance has many opportunities for students who are not pursuing a major within our department to take classes and be involved. Please see our Events page for ways to engage with Theatre and Dance. 

Undergraduate Degree Programs

  • BA in Dance
    12/11/24
    The UB Dance Program is a nurturing and challenging artistic community where Versatility Matters. We value education fueled by performing and teaching experiences that prepare students for a variety of careers in the professional world of dance and beyond. Our BA and BFA programs include comprehensive training in modern, ballet, tap and jazz, along with coursework in choreography, pedagogy, somatic practices, Laban Movement Analysis, history and criticism, research, dance kinesiology, improvisation, music theatre dance, and social dance. 
  • BFA in Dance
    12/11/24
    The UB Dance Program is a nurturing and challenging artistic community where Versatility Matters. We value education fueled by performing and teaching experiences that prepare students for a variety of careers in the professional world of dance and beyond. Our BA and BFA programs include comprehensive training in modern, ballet, tap and jazz, along with coursework in choreography, pedagogy, somatic practices, Laban Movement Analysis, history and criticism, research, dance kinesiology, improvisation, music theatre dance, and social dance. 
  • BFA in Music Theatre
    12/12/24
    The Music Theatre program at UB embraces the ever-widening spectrum of musical theatre arts, including musicals, operetta, cabaret, and dance works. We are dedicated to theatre as collaboration, and actively pursue the research and creation of new works as well as the re-envisioning of the classics for our times. Our goal is to prepare our students to succeed as multi-faceted theatre professionals in an increasingly creative and challenging field.
  • BA in Theatre
    12/12/24
    UB’s Theatre BA program includes study in a broad range of theatrical disciplines covering the artistic, literary, historical, and technical aspects of theatre and performance, while encouraging students to design their curriculum around a specific focus in production or scholarship. The flexibility of the degree allows for an open exploration and adaptability based on a students’ unique area of interest. 
  • BFA in Theatre: Performance
    12/12/24
    The Theatre Performance BFA program at UB integrates artistic experiential training and interdisciplinary study to transform students into engaged, versatile, and skilled theatre artists prepared for professional careers in the performing arts. Supported by close faculty mentorship, students train in acting styles and methods for both stage and film, from classical to contemporary, in addition to directing, voice, mime and movement, circus skills, audition techniques, dance, voiceover, and poetic text.
  • BFA in Theatre: Design and Technology
    12/12/24
    UB’s BFA in Theatre, concentration in Design and Technology degree is for students interested in developing specific skills and who are willing to commit to structured, intensive, studio-based training. The cornerstone of UB’s Design and Technology program is practical application alongside supportive lecture. We provide students with challenging opportunities to learn in the classroom, and to apply that learning through hands-on experiences. In the classroom, you learn to recognize your inspiration, develop your ideas, and communicate your vision; in the Center for the Arts, you work with professionals to execute those ideas in production.
  • Minor in Dance
    12/12/24
    The dance minor provides students with the opportunity to continue studies in dance, or to explore anew, at a collegiate level. The dance minor is a secondary field of study and offers students a means to complement their major, explore a subspeciality, and/or broaden career alternatives.
  • Minor in Theatre
    12/12/24
    The Minor in Theatre at UB offers study in a broad range of theatrical disciplines covering the artistic, literary, historical, and technical aspects of theatre and performance. Minors take a core curriculum in the fundamentals of theatre, and then choose from a wide variety of courses in their specific areas of interest, including acting, directing, dramaturgy, stage management, theatre studies, or design and technology. 

Auditions or Interviews are required for the Dance BA, the Dance BFA, the Music Theatre BFA, and the Theatre BFA. Please visit our Audition page for more information on how to register. 

Want to Visit?

Submit a Visit Request Form and see what UB Theatre and Dance has to offer. 

For More Information Contact:

Send us a general inquiry at: td-theatredance@buffalo.edu. Or reach out to: