UTexas

Degrees and Programs

This is an archived copy of the 2023-24 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.utexas.edu/.

Degrees Offered

The College of Fine Arts offers a wide variety of degree programs. For undergraduate students who seek professional training in the arts or who feel the need for intensive training in their chosen art, the college offers the degrees of Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Music, and Bachelor of Science in Arts and Entertainment Technologies. These degrees require that approximately two-thirds of the coursework be completed in the major area.

The student who wants a broad education with an emphasis in the arts may pursue the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Arts in Music, or Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Dance. These degrees require that approximately a third of the coursework be completed in the major area.

Department of Art and Art History

The Department of Art and Art History offers academic programs in art education, art history, and studio art.

Art Education

Art educators believe art is an essential component of a comprehensive education. The art education program prepares students to serve as teaching artists in schools and community settings. Comprehensive coursework ranges from grounding in the field (its philosophical, historical and social contexts), current art education trends (visual/material culture art education, social justice art education, multicultural art education, discipline-based art education), content knowledge (age appropriate art making skills, art criticism, aesthetics, educational philosophy, educational technology, ethical decision making) and pedagogical strategies (curriculum writing, teaching strategies, standards and evaluation). Field observations and practical classroom teaching in community and school environments are required of all students in the program. Coursework meets state requirements for teacher certification in all-level art (early childhood through grade 12).

Art History

Art history is a discipline that works to deepen and expand our understanding of art and visual expression from a variety of perspectives, from an initial context of making and reception to an ensuing circulation, including collection and display. Students in art history become proficient in visual and cultural analyses, core components of critical thinking and writing, as well as historical interpretation. The art history program is among the nation’s largest and most distinguished, with over 20 full-time faculty who are leading scholars in their respective fields and represent a diversity of critical and methodological outlooks. Our objects of inquiry include all media, historical periods, and geographical areas: from sculpture to digital art, from pre-history to the present, and from every part of the world.

Studio Art

The studio art program prepares students interested in contemporary art with a solid foundation of technical, critical, and professional skills necessary to bring their ideas to physical/sensory form and eventually find a path to public dissemination. Through production, critique, readings, and exhibition, students become conversant with diverse histories and theoretical models of art making influencing the field today.

Studio instruction encompasses drawing and painting (contemporary and historical practices), photography and media (black/white darkroom, digital, still and moving image), print (intaglio, lithography, serigraphy), sculpture and extended media (casting, hot and cold fabrication, digital fabrication, installation), and transmedia (digital-time art, video art, performance art). 

Studio students' experiences in the classroom are enhanced by the University’s extensive resources for art research, including the Fine Arts Library, the Blanton Museum of Art, the Perry-Castañeda Library, and specialized collections such as the Harry Ransom Center, the Classics Library, the Architecture and Planning Library, the Benson Latin American Collection, Landmarks, and the University Co-op Materials Lab.

Programs of Study

Programs of study leading to the following undergraduate degrees are offered in the Department of Art and Art History:

  • Bachelor of Arts
    • Art history
    • Studio art
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts
    • Studio art
    • Art education
      • Students who plan to pursue certification to teach art in Texas public schools should follow the art education (AED) program.

School of Design and Creative Technologies

The School of Design and Creative Technologies offers academic programs in design and arts and entertainment technologies.

Design

The undergraduate design program empowers students with a rich, multi-faceted educational experience that poises graduates for careers in the design professions or entrepreneurial endeavors. Design is about solving a problem and creating new processes, products, and services for people. It is human-centered; the end-user's needs, wants, and limitations are explored at all stages within the design process and development lifecycle.

Students enjoy the extensive offerings of one of the world's great public universities, while receiving individualized instruction from expert, passionate faculty and local industry professionals in small cohorts. Students immerse themselves in various aspects of design and learn to create graphics, objects, interactions, systems, and services.

Arts and Entertainment Technologies

Arts and Entertainment Technologies is focused on professional practice in immersive media, experience design, and interactive systems. Faculty noted for their professional excellence and experience teach a diverse set of courses in design and technology. Students work with faculty and each other to produce state-of-the-art content in an interdisciplinary academic setting aligned with the missions of both the College of Fine Arts and The University of Texas.

Coursework is centered around design methods, coding, game development, real-time graphics, sound design, simulation, collaboration, emerging technology, storytelling, and interconnected modes of production and distribution. Through this curriculum, students are prepared for careers in the fields of real-time technology, mixed reality, and immersive media which are powering new forms of design, education, and business.

Programs of Study

Programs of study leading to the following undergraduate degrees are offered in the School of Design and Creative Technologies:

  • Bachelor of Arts
    • Design
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts
    • Design
  • Bachelor of Science in Arts and Entertainment Technologies
    • Arts and entertainment technologies

Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music

Through professional education of the highest caliber, the Butler School of Music prepares students for productive careers as performers, teachers, composers, and scholars, and for satisfying lives as informed and responsible members of a democratic society. In accordance with the University's mission, the School also seeks to extend the boundaries of knowledge and human experience through research and the creation of new music.

Housed in two connected buildings, the physical facilities of the Butler School include performance spaces in the 700-seat Bates Recital Hall with its world-renowned Visser-Rowland pipe organ, Jessen Auditorium, the Recital Studio, and McCullough Theatre. For special events, the school collaborates with Texas Performing Arts for performances in Bass Concert Hall. Other facilities include well-equipped classrooms and faculty studios/offices, multiple large and small rehearsal halls, electronic music studios, recording studios, 130 practice rooms and modules (including dedicated rooms for organ, harp, and percussion), a technology lab, chamber music rooms, two digital keyboard labs, and 250 well-maintained pianos. Also available to music students are libraries including manuscripts, rare editions, and performance collections; a Medieval and Renaissance instrument collection; a Javanese gamelan, and a Music Learning Laboratory.

Programs of Study

Programs of study leading to the following undergraduate degrees are offered in the Butler School of Music:

  • Bachelor of Arts in Music
    • Emphasis in Music
    • Emphasis in Composition
  • Bachelor of Music
    • Composition
    • Jazz
      • Concentration in Performance: double bass, drum set, guitar, piano, saxophone, trombone, and trumpet
      • Concentration in Composition: double bass, drum set, guitar, piano, saxophone, trombone, and trumpet
    • Performance: voice, piano, organ, harp, harpsichord, and orchestral instruments
    • Music studies
      • Students who plan to pursue certification to teach music in Texas public schools should follow the Music Studies program.

Courses

The University of Texas at Austin is an institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music, approved for both its undergraduate and its graduate degrees in music. The requirements for entrance and for graduation given in this catalog are in accordance with the published regulations of the association.

Areas of Study

The College of Fine Arts offers courses in several areas of music. The undergraduate courses available in music performance, music literature, music studies, and music theory are listed below and with complete descriptions in the General Information Catalog.

Music Performance

Some of the following courses may be repeated for credit on the recommendation of the appropriate music performance jury.

Music 201J, Beginning Class Piano for Nonmusic Majors 
Music 201K, Second-Semester Class Piano for Nonmusic Majors
Music 201M, Beginning Music Performance: Class Piano
Music 201N, Beginning Music Performance: Second-Semester Class Piano
Music 201S, Beginning Music Performance: Class Harp
Music 201T, Beginning Music Performance: Second-Semester Class Harp
Music 210J, Beginning Instruction in Music Performance: Third-Semester Class Piano 
Music 210K, Beginning Instruction in Music Performance: Fourth-Semester Class Piano
Music 111E, English Diction and Phonetic Translation

Music 311F, French for Musicians 
Music 311G, German for Musicians 
Music 311J, Italian for Musicians
Music 115T, Lower-Division Reed Making
Music 420J, Junior Jazz Recital
Music 420R, Junior Recital
Music 222J, Instrumental Conducting
Music 222K, Instrumental Conducting
Music 223J, Choral Conducting
Music 223K, Choral Conducting
Music 159J, Harp Repertoire
Music 259L, Vocal Repertoire Coaching 
Music 259N, Chamber Music: Strings and Piano
Music 259T, Topics in Instrumental Technology
Music 160C, Senior Composition Recital
Music 460J, Senior Jazz Recital
Music 460R, Senior Recital
Music 366P, Senior Piano Pedagogy Project
Music 176CMusic 276CMusic 376C, Special Topics in Music Performance
Music 178CMusic 278CMusic 378C, Independent Study: Music Performance

Music Literature

Music 302L, An Introduction to Western Music
Music 302P, Introductory Topics in Western Music 
Music 303M, Introduction to Music in World Cultures 
Music 303N, Introduction to Popular Music in World Cultures
Music 303P, Topics in Music of World Cultures
Music 307, Topics in Popular Music
Music 313M, History of Music I
Music 313N, History of Music II
Music 330L, History of Music III 
Music 334, The Music of the Americas 
Music 337, Music and Film Sound
Music 338, Masterpieces of Music
Music 342, Area Studies in Ethnomusicology
Music 343J, History of Jazz
Music 376G, Special Topics in Music Literature
Music 178G, Music 278G, Music 278G, Independent Study: Music Literature
Music 379K, Advanced Topics in Music Literature

Music Studies

Music 115D, String Instrument Fundamentals
Music 115E, Brass Instrument Fundamentals
Music 115F, Woodwind Instrument Fundamentals
Music 115G, Guitar Fundamentals
Music 354, Musical Development of Children 
Music 354C, Children's Music Literature and Performance I
Music 354D, Children's Music Literature and Performance II
Music 354F, Music Performance, Listening, and Appreciation
Music 155C, Techniques of Percussion Performance
Music 255D, Techniques of String Performance
Music 255E, Techniques of Brass Performance
Music 255F, Techniques of Woodwind Performance
Music 255M, Marching Band Techniques
Music 255V, Techniques of Vocal Performance
Music 356G, Choral Ensemble Literature and Performance
Music 356J, Instrumental Ensemble Literature and Performance
Music 176M, Special Topics in Music Studies
Music 178M, Music 278M, Music 378M, Independent Study: Music Studies

Music Theory

Music 605, Musicianship 
Music 411, Ear Training and Sight-Singing 
Music 612, Structure of Tonal Music
Music 214C, Beginning Composition
Music 218J, Beginning Jazz Improvisation
Music 321J, Twentieth-Century Musical Analysis 
Music 223, Jazz Improvisation I

Music 224G, Intermediate Composition
Music 224J, Advanced Composition 
Music 325L, Counterpoint 
Music 325M, Counterpoint 
Music 226G, Orchestration and Arranging 
Music 226J, Orchestration and Instrumentation 
Music 226K, Orchestration and Instrumentation
Music 226N, Choral Arranging
Music 228C, Jazz Harmony in Practice I
Music 228D, Jazz Harmony in Practice II
Music 228P, Jazz Composition 
Music 329E, Introduction to Electronic Media 
Music 329F, Projects in Electronic Media 
Music 329G, Intermediate Electronic Composition
Music 329J, Introduction to Computer Music 
Music 329M, Intermediate Computer Music 
Music 246, Jazz Piano Techniques I
Music 348, Studio Arranging I
Music 164L, Advanced Ear Training 

Music 368L, Review of Music Theory 
Music 376J, Special Topics in Music Theory 
Music 178J, Music 278J, Music 378J, Independent Study: Music Theory

The abbreviations used for performance courses are included in Appendix B.

Department of Theatre and Dance

The Department of Theatre and Dance affords students opportunities for scholarship and practice in all the principal areas of theatre and dance.  Students may choose programs of study leading to a variety of academic and professional goals, including teacher certification in both theatre and dance.

The facilities of the department are among the best available to university programs in the United States. In addition to the performance areas, studios, and shops of Texas Performing Arts, the department has the B. Iden Payne Theatre, the Oscar Brockett Theatre (a flexible space black box theater), a 100-seat laboratory theater, two workshop performance spaces, an extensive costume collection, five dance studios, a drafting studio, a design studio, as well as numerous classrooms and rehearsal studios in the F. Loren Winship Drama Building. Of special interest to students pursuing theatre research is the Performing Arts Collection, housed in the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, which contains one of the world’s most important collections of theatre material.

Programs of Study

Programs of study leading to the following undergraduate degrees are offered in the Department of Theatre and Dance:

  • Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Dance
    • Theatre and dance
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts
    • Acting
    • Dance
      • Students who plan to pursue certification to teach dance in Texas public schools should follow the dance education option under the dance program.
    • Theatre education
      • Students who plan to pursue certification to teach theatre arts in Texas public schools should follow the theatre education program.

Courses

Registration with a member of the department faculty is required of students planning to major in the Department of Theatre and Dance and of those enrolling in courses that require faculty permission.

All students majoring in the department are required to participate in the production process in some form (performance, technical crew, creative teams, etc.) as scheduled by the faculty of the department.

Applicability of Certain Courses

Physical Activity Courses

Physical activity courses (PED) are offered by the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education. A limited number of these courses may be counted as electives toward degrees in the College of Fine Arts, but only at the discretion of the dean. All physical activity courses are counted among courses for which the student is enrolled, and the grades are included in the grade point average. For further information, contact the Office of Student Affairs.

Bible Courses

Bible courses may be counted as lower-division electives in College of Fine Arts degree programs that have room for such electives. No more than 12 semester hours of such work may be counted toward any degree offered by the University.

Courses Taken on the Pass/Fail Basis

Regulations concerning courses taken on the pass/fail basis are given in General Information. For most degree programs in the College of Fine Arts, a very limited and restricted amount of coursework may be taken on the pass/fail basis. To be assured that a course taken on this basis will apply to the degree, the student must consult the Office of Student Affairs before enrolling in the course.

Credit by Examination, Correspondence, and Transfer

Credit that a student in residence earns by examination, correspondence, or extension will not be counted toward a degree in the College of Fine Arts unless specifically approved in advance by the Office of Student Affairs.

Credit that the student earns at another institution while enrolled in residence at the University should also seek a ruling from the Office of Student Affairs as to whether the credit may be applied toward a degree and for information about procedures and deadlines. This ruling should be obtained before registering for the coursework.

A student planning to take coursework at another institution while not enrolled in residence at the University should also seek a ruling via the policies detailed above.

No more than 10 percent of the semester hours required for any degree offered in the College of Fine Arts may be completed by correspondence.

UTeach-Fine Arts Teacher Certification 

To be recommended for a certificate to teach in Texas public schools, an undergraduate or graduate student must complete a University of Texas at Austin approved program for teacher preparation. The University maintains approved programs for art, theatre, dance, and music. Students interested in one of these teaching areas ordinarily pursue the degree program in fine arts education: art education, theatre education, dance, or music studies. Students seeking teacher certification must be approved by the College of Education for the Professional Development Sequence (PDS) and must complete additional state exams and fingerprinting requirements. See State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) at http://www.tea.texas.gov for details. Field observations and practical classroom teaching in community and school environments are required of all students in the program. Coursework meets the state requirements for teacher certification in all-level (early childhood through grade 12) art, music, or theatre and in secondary (grades six through 12) dance.

State of Texas teacher certification requirements are governed by the Texas Education Agency and are subject to change. Students must adhere to current teacher certification requirements, even if they differ from those listed in the University catalogs.

Professional Development Sequence

For those seeking all-level teacher certification for art:

RequirementsHours
EDC 331SSchool Organization and Classroom Management in Secondary Schools3
EDC 332SDesigns for Instruction3
EDC 370SSecondary School Subjects3
EDC 951WAll Level Teaching Practicum (Topic 2)9
PSY 301Introduction to Psychology3
ALD 322Individual Differences3
Three credit hours in human development chosen from the following:3
Introduction to Child Psychology
Personality
Child Development
and Child Development Laboratory
Adolescent Development

For those seeking all-level teacher certification for theatre:

RequirementsHours
EDC 331SSchool Organization and Classroom Management in Secondary Schools3
EDC 332SDesigns for Instruction3
EDC 370SSecondary School Subjects3
EDC 951WAll Level Teaching Practicum (Topic 1)9
PSY 301Introduction to Psychology3
ALD 322Individual Differences3
Three credit hours in human development chosen from the following:3
Introduction to Child Psychology
Personality
Child Development
and Child Development Laboratory
Adolescent Development

For those seeking secondary teacher certification for dance:

RequirementsHours
EDC 331SSchool Organization and Classroom Management in Secondary Schools3
EDC 332SDesigns for Instruction3
EDC 370SSecondary School Subjects3
EDC 951WAll Level Teaching Practicum (Topic 3)9
PSY 301Introduction to Psychology3
ALD 322Individual Differences3
Three credit hours in human development chosen from the following:3
Introduction to Child Psychology
Personality
Child Development
and Child Development Laboratory
Adolescent Development

For those seeking all-level teacher certification for music:

RequirementsHours
EDC 331SSchool Organization and Classroom Management in Secondary Schools3
EDC 332SDesigns for Instruction3
EDC 370SSecondary School Subjects3
EDC 951WAll Level Teaching Practicum (Topic 4)9
PSY 301Introduction to Psychology3
MUS 354CChildren's Music Literature and Performance I3
Three credit hours in human development chosen from the following:3
Introduction to Child Psychology
Personality
Child Development
and Child Development Laboratory
Adolescent Development