Life as a Modern Dancer

How many MFA programs are in the United States right now? (Updated November 2021)

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From Blog Director Jill Randall:

In Spring 2016, an online conversation led to me creating this list. I try to update it twice a year. At the moment, there are currently 48 MFA programs in United States. 

Below, I go state by state with program names. The program names underlined have been highlighted on the blog; click on the links to read more. If any program has been omitted, please leave a comment below, and I will update the list. And if your MFA program does not have a post on the site, please email me at randalldanceprojects@gmail.com.

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University of Utah

Alabama

  • University of Alabama

Arizona

  • Arizona State
  • University of Arizona

California

Colorado

  • University of Colorado

District of Columbia

  • George Washington University

Florida

Hawaii

  • University of Hawaii

Illinois

Iowa

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

  • University of Michigan

Mississippi

Missouri

  • Washington University in St. Louis

New Jersey

New Mexico

  • University of New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

  • University of North Carolina at Greensboro
  • Duke University

Ohio

Oklahoma

  • University of Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

  • Temple University
  • University of the Arts (NEW full-time and low-res)
  • Wilson College

Texas

  • Sam Houston University
  • Texas Woman's University
  • University of Texas at Austin

Utah

Vermont

  • Bennington College

Virginia

  • George Mason University
  • Hollins University

Washington

Wisconsin

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Related links:

Multiple Perspectives: Deciding When to Begin Graduate School

Blog Series: Masters Programs (MFA and MA)

Screendance Programs

Low Residency Programs

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7 responses to “How many MFA programs are in the United States right now? (Updated November 2021)”

  1. Ruben graciani Avatar
    Ruben graciani

    University of New Mexico – MFA in Dance

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  2. Suzanne Callahan Avatar
    Suzanne Callahan

    In 2012 my consulting firm, Callahan Consulting for the Arts, did a study for the Mellon Foundation that addressed this question. A summary of the study is here: http://www.forthearts.org/publications/choreography-report. The full report is on the Mellon website here: https://mellon.org/media/filer_public/d8/7c/d87c5b26-bd0f-4f25-ae37-4ca7e3afd2f4/callahanconsulting_choreographictrainingfullreport_oct2014.pdf
    At the time of the study, based on data from the Dance Magazine College Guide, there were 31 MFA programs. The full list is in Appendix B on pages 74-77. You may wish to compare it to your list.

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  3. Suzanne Callahan Avatar
    Suzanne Callahan

    Here’s a better link to the overview of the study on the website of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. https://mellon.org/resources/news/articles/choreography-united-states-comparative-study-training-and-support-systems/

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  4. Emily Wright Avatar
    Emily Wright

    Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi – MFA in Dance
    http://jackson.belhaven.edu/mfa-dance.htm

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  5. JK Avatar
    JK

    University of Florida
    University of Mississippi

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  6. Liam Clancy Avatar
    Liam Clancy

    University of California, San Diego
    http://theatre.ucsd.edu/graduate/programs/dance/index.htm

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  7. Jill Homan Randall Avatar
    Jill Homan Randall

    Hello. I just added UC San Diego to the list. My research does not show that U of Florida has an MFA in dance at the moment:
    http://arts.ufl.edu/academics/theatre-and-dance/programs/

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I’m Jill, the creator and editor for this site. I am passionate about sharing artists’ journeys and offerings resources and inspiration for the field.

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