Application Fee (Required)
$65 for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
$80 for international students.
English Proficiency Test (Required)
This program uses the Graduate School's English Language Proficiency Score Requirements and Minimum Scores for Regular Admission.
Minimum Scores for Regular Admission
TOEFL iBT: 4.5 (no sub score less than 4) (or 79 for students who took the test prior to January 2026)
IELTS: 6.5 (no sub score less than 6)
Duolingo English Test: 120 (no sub score less than 110)
PTE: 59
More information is available at https://graduate.ua.edu/applicants/international-students/.
Letter of Recommendation (3 Required)
At least three letters of recommendation must be submitted. Letters should speak to candidates' artistic and academic strengths. At least two letters should be from someone at an academic institution (past or present) who can speak to these strengths, even if previous academic work was not in Dance.
Resume (Required)
This document should accurately reflect candidates' completed educational background and all of their professional and related experiences to date. The document should be thorough and comprehensive.
Statement of Purpose (Required)
Compose a narrative, relating research and movement practice interests to pursuing a degree within the UA program. The essay should situate candidates within the field at the present time, gathering significant details of candidates' previous experience, clarifying their current involvement and interest in dance, and speculating about their future intentions within the field. Reviewers are interested in getting to know something about candidates as dance professionals through this writing: what have you done that has led you here, how do you articulate your aesthetic sensibility, what do you hope to accomplish in your studies?
Transcript (Required)
Please upload an unofficial transcript for any institution of higher education at which you have completed 15 or more credit hours. Please include a grading scheme if your university does not use a letter-based (e.g. A, A-, B) grading scheme.
Additional Requirements (not listed) (Recommended)
An audition and interview is required for all MFA applicants. Acceptance into the Department of Theatre and Dance (MFA) program requires admission to the UA Graduate School as well as admission to the department. The audition will include movement classes to demonstrate technical and performance proficiency. Each prospective MFA student will be scheduled for a 20-30 minute individual interview with members of the faculty during the audition process. Applicants will open the interview with a brief presentation that highlights their interests in graduate work at UA and outlines possible areas of emphasis.
Work samples are also required and can be uploaded through the application Portfolio. List Vimeo, YouTube or similar resources as hyperlinks in a Word or PDF attachment. These samples should demonstrate candidates' expertise and interests, such as excerpts of choreography, documentation of performances, samples of lighting plots, dance notation, or dance media projects. All materials must be accompanied by a clearly written legend identifying the contents, including title, order of materials, date and explicit identification of your contribution. Film clips may be edited or unedited and there is no time limit.