Performing Arts Building, Room A407
Phone: 703-993-4551
Web: gmu.edu/cvpa
College Code: AR
“Mason is deeply committed to the arts and educating our students about the significance the arts have in all our lives. This is why the arts are integral to our institution. We encourage active student participation in the many programs and related courses in the arts that are scheduled throughout the year. Students are able to receive a more balanced education, develop a deeper appreciation of the arts, and achieve a more enlightened perspective of the world.”
—Alan G. Merten
President, George Mason University
The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) creates an academic environment in which the arts are considered as individual disciplines as well as interdisciplinary forms that strengthen each other. Courses of study are designed to lead to careers as creators, performers, teachers, managers, and scholars of the arts, as well as prepare students for the challenges of a rapidly changing world. In addition to providing strong programs for arts majors and minors, CVPA strives to ensure that Mason’s entire student population has the opportunity to experience and study the arts as a key component of a well-rounded liberal arts education.
Studying the arts goes hand in hand with creation and performance. CVPA provides the theaters, studios, rehearsal spaces, computer laboratories, recital halls, and performance classrooms in which students hone their skills. The college’s faculty of practicing artist-teachers works closely with students in a variety of curricular and cocurricular creative projects. Once basic techniques are established, students are encouraged to stretch, grow, and experiment within this supportive environment. Students regularly perform, create, exhibit, and otherwise develop their art forms in a wide variety of public venues, enhancing their experience as working artists while enriching the cultural life of the campus community.
An education in the arts is deepened by regular contact with the work of distinguished visiting artists. The college is home to the Center for the Arts, which comprises a variety of professional presenting and producing units that provide a diverse program of cultural experiences for the entire university community, as well as Northern Virginia and the greater Washington, D.C., area. Artists from across the country and around the world regularly perform in the Concert Hall, give master classes, work with students during extended residencies, and interact with the community in a variety of other ways. The accessibility and vitality of the Concert Hall, TheaterSpace, the Fine Arts Building and Johnson Center Galleries, Harris Theater, and other campus venues make the arts pervasive at Mason and in our larger community.
William F. Reeder, Dean
Rick Davis, Artistic Director, Center for the Arts and Theater of the First Amendment
Linda G. Miller, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
Brian Marcus, Associate Dean of Development
Scott Martin, Assistant Dean, Research, Technology, and Institutional Development
Victoria N. Salmon, Director of Graduate Studies and Academic Advancement
CVPA houses the four academic departments of Art and Visual Technology, Dance, Music, and Theater; and programs in Arts Management, and Film and Video Studies.
Each major features strong academic preparation in the history and theory of the art form, and a wide range of discipline-based technique courses offered by professional artist-teachers. Opportunities for creative work and performance are at the core of most courses of study.
CVPA’s graduate programs offer highly focused study designed to prepare students for professional work in the arts and education. The requirements for each graduate degree are described in the sections that follow.
Graduate credit earned prior to admission to a certificate, master’s, or doctoral program may be eligible to be transferred into the program and applied to a CVPA graduate certificate or degree. The total amount of credits that may be transferred into a CVPA graduate program is 12 credits; these may be Mason nondegree graduate credits, or graduate credits from another qualified college or university. Please see the Graduate Policies/Transfer of Credit portion of the catalog for more detailed information about the requirements.
The undergraduate degree consists of course work in university general education, a major area of study, and electives. To earn a bachelor’s degree, students must complete a minimum of 120 credits, of which at least 45 must be upper-level courses (numbered 300 and above). At least one course at the 300 or 400 level must be designated “writing intensive.” All entering students who have not yet satisfied the university-wide requirement in quantitative reasoning are required to take the math placement test prior to enrollment.
Undergraduate students earning CVPA degrees must earn a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA in their major or higher, if required by their program.
Activity courses offered by the Health, Fitness, and Recreation Resources Department cannot be counted toward credits required for a degree in CVPA. Students may take nonactivity PHED courses for elective credit for CVPA degrees.
Undergraduate students earning degrees in CVPA may register for 18 credits per fall and spring semester without the dean’s permission. Students are advised that they will be required to pay additional tuition beyond the 16-credit, university full-time academic load. Graduate students earning degrees in CVPA may register for a maximum of 13 credits per fall and spring semester. Students should be cognizant of the time commitment when they register for their courses, especially if they register for high numbers of credits. Students are urged to consult with their advisor and familiarize themselves with Mason guidelines for work and academic load. Students are reminded that employment must not take priority over course work.
Students are assigned advisors and encouraged to meet with them on a regular basis. Undeclared CVPA students and undergraduate students in academic difficulty (cumulative GPA under 2.00) are required to see an advisor prior to registration for the semester following registration restriction.
University policy states that students must earn 8 distinct credits that are not used for their major toward their minor. Some departments have more specific criteria for applying credits to a minor.
Students are strongly advised to consult the Academic Policies chapter of this catalog for information concerning university-wide requirements for degrees and requirements for nondegree students.
The baccalaureate degree requires students to take a range of courses that provide a broad knowledge of the world, develop the ability to think both conceptually and critically, acquaint them with many different methods of inquiry, and provide the skills to continue intellectual growth throughout their lives. Students select from a range of courses outlined in the University General Education chapter. Students accepted into the Honors Program in General Education fulfill their core general education requirements with completion of that program of study. The Mason Topics Program provides a way for students to register for two or more complementary general education courses at the same time for four semesters. The professors who teach in this program have coordinated readings and assignments. Students are strongly advised to consult the University General Education chapter of this catalog for information concerning general education.
Some degrees within CVPA require intermediate-level proficiency in one foreign language. This requirement may be fulfilled by completing a course in a foreign language numbered 202, 209, or 210 (or higher level courses taught in the language) or achieving a satisfactory score on an approved proficiency test. International students should consult the CVPA Student Academic Affairs Office about a possible waiver of this requirement.
Some CVPA courses transcend individual disciplines. These courses are administered by the Dean’s Office and are designated CVPA in the Course Descriptions chapter of this catalog.
Performing Arts Building
Room A407
Phone: 703-993-1321
Miller, Coordinator
The field of visual and performing arts offers many career paths that rely on a strong foundation in one or more art forms and require specific knowledge and skills in administration and management. The minor in arts administration consists of 18 credits, including CVPA 305 Seminar in Arts Management (3 credits) and CVPA 489 Field Experience in the Arts (3–6 credits). All other credits are selected in consultation with a program advisor from relevant courses in CVPA, the Nonprofit Management Program in the Department of Public and International Affairs, the School of Management, the Department of Communication, or other appropriate areas of study. The minor is open to all CVPA majors as well as art history majors. All other students must complete 9 credits of arts-related course work to be eligible for this minor. See the program coordinator for more information.