Theater Arts & Dance Advising

Welcome to UCSC Theater Arts Academic Advising!

Moon Rinaldo (she/her) is the Academic Advisor for the undergraduate Theater Arts major and minor, the dance minor, and the Master of Arts in Theater Arts. If you still have questions after using the resources on this page, please do not hesitate to contact Moon. She is available throughout the year to advise on degree declaration and course requirements, courses offerings, to help you define your academic goals, to create an academic plan for timely graduation, and to assist with petitions, etc., as well as to guide you to other appropriate faculty and staff as needed. 

PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

Thank you for your interest in Theater Arts and/or Dance at UC Santa Cruz!

• GRADUATE PROGRAM 
  • Theater Arts M.A. program information can be found on our website, here.
  • Application information can be found on the Graduate Division site, here.
  • Please send questions to: theatergradprogram@ucsc.edu.
     
• UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS 
  • Learn about our undergraduate programs on our
    Undergraduate Degrees and Undergraduate Experience pages.
  • Questions about theater arts and dance programs may be sent to theater-ugradadv@ucsc.edu.
  • UCSC Admissions General Overview.
    • For questions about UCSC admissions requirements and your application, please see: Admissions contact info.

ADMITTED & CURRENT GRADUATE STUDENTS

Most Theater Arts graduate advising questions are answered in the Theater Arts M.A. handbook, a detailed guide to the degree. Please send questions to: theatergradprogram@ucsc.edu.

ADMITTED & CURRENT UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

It’s never too early to start planning your degree path or to simply ask about our programs, classes or productions. If you’re not familiar with our program, watch this 2-minute animated video for a fun overview!

Students interested in a Theater Arts or Dance degree work with the Theater Arts academic advisor to create an academic plan. Students are encouraged to consult with the advisor well in advance of declaration to learn degree requirements and plan.

Transfer students may petition to have equivalent lower-division courses taken at other schools count toward lower-division minor requirements and should consult with the Theater Arts academic advisor as early as possible regarding this opportunity.

Undergraduate advising appointments are scheduled through Navigate Slug Success. Questions may be sent to the Theater Arts advisor by emailing theater-ugradadv@ucsc.edu.

2024 ADVISING OVERVIEW RECORDINGS – The following resources are only accessible to the UCSC community, so you must be logged into your UCSC Google account:

• PDF slideshow from the 2024 Theater Arts advising presentation, with helpful links (a few edits and updates were made for clarity after the presentation).
• Video recording of Fall 2024 Theater Arts Advising Overview/Orientation (with Moon Rinaldo, Theater Arts Academic Advisor).
• Video recording of Fall 2024 PPD Welcome presentation (with department faculty & staff) – COMING SOON!

Most advising questions for current undergraduates are answered on this Advising page or in the handbook, a detailed guide to our undergraduate degrees:

SCHEDULE AN UNDERGRADUATE ADVISING APPOINTMENT!

Current UCSC undergraduates make Zoom and in-person or advising appointments (12 or more hours in advance) through: 

UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC PLANNING FORM TEMPLATES 

MAJOR/MINOR DECLARATION 

• Theater Arts MAJOR declaration information (General Catalog). 
• Theater Arts MINOR requirements & declaration information (General Catalog). 
• Dance Minor requirements & declaration information (General Catalog). 

CURRENT THEATER ARTS & DANCE (THEA) COURSE OFFERINGS, DESCRIPTIONS AND ENROLLMENT GUIDANCE

• Course offerings sheets for general planning as well as links to other helpful enrollment-related resources can be found on the Theater Arts Course Offerings and Enrollment page.
• Course descriptions for all THEA classes can be found in the UCSC General Catalog here. 
  • Note that NOT all courses listed in the General Catalog are offered every year. Only the current Schedule of Classes Class Search will list currently available courses, and the Course Offerings sheets will indicate which classes will be offered in the current or upcoming year.

DEGREE PROGRESS REPORT (DPR) IN MyUCSC

Once you are proposed or declared as a Theater Arts major or you are declared as a Theater Art minor or Dance minor, you can track the completion of requirements for those degrees, as well as your GEs and other university requirements, in your Degree Progress Report (DPR) in My.UCSC (go to My Academics > Degree Progress Report).

Please check your DPR at least once a quarter and ask any academic advisor or you if you have questions about it. Visual instructions to find and read DPRs are here.

FAQs about Undergraduate Degrees in Theater Arts and Dance

Learn about our undergraduate programs on our Undergraduate Degrees and
Undergraduate Experience pages.

Current Major and Minor requirements

Requirements can be found in the UCSC General Catalog for the:

• Theater Arts major
• Theater Arts minor
• Dance minor.

Faculty & Staff Mentors  

In addition to working with your academic advisor, it is important to be in contact with others in the department who can serve as helpful mentors.

Permanent “Ladder rank” faculty are assigned as official mentors to Theater Arts majors as part of the declaration process, but majors and minors may and should meet with other faculty, including lecturers and staff as well.

Seek out the people in our department that teach classes or do work or research in areas that interest you. Learn a little about them our People page. They can all be important and helpful resources to help you with the direction of your work, and to give you ideas about possibilities after completing your B.A. Keep them informed of what you are doing, discuss your work and interests with them, and ask what projects they’re working on.

When considering an internship, apprenticeship and job positions, as well as before applying to graduate school, it is highly recommended that you consult with at least one faculty member, preferably in a field related to the area(s) for which you are applying. If you take a class with them or you can help them become familiar with your work in other settings, they may be able to write letters of recommendation for your applications.

Faculty and staff bio and contact information is available on our People and Contact pages, and in the Campus Directory.

IMPORTANT UNIVERSITY DATES & DEADLINES

University-wide dates and deadlines can be found here. 

STATEMENT ON SOCIAL EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND JUSTICE 

Please click here for the department’s Statement of Diversity.

IMPORTANT CAMPUS HEALTH & SAFETY CONTACTS & OTHER RESOURCES

Please see a list of helpful campus resources in the Theater Arts Undergraduate handbook here.    

PRODUCTION AUDITION INFORMATION

Department production audition information can be found here, updated as it becomes available. 

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THEATER ARTS NEWSLETTER – STAY INFORMED!

Receive news and info about upcoming Theater Arts events and opportunities, including audition information, as well as occasional forwarded outside announcements that may interest students (the list is not shared with any other department or organization and non-Theater Arts majors and minors may unsubscribe at any time).