Ph.D. in Culture and Performance Admissions

THE APPLICATION PROCESS

For the Ph.D. program in Culture and Performance, all applicants are required to follow the University's graduate admissions criteria and requirements.

In addition to the University's minimum requirements, all Culture and Performance Ph.D. applicants are expected to submit:

  • A writing sample
  • Three (3) letters of recommendation

The General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required. Please do not send your GRE scores because they will not be reviewed. Samples of creative work relevant to proposed graduate research are welcome but not required.

Applicants to the Ph.D. program also are normally expected to hold a master's degree or its equivalent from a recognized college or university. Applicants for the Ph.D. without an M.A. degree in a related field will fulfill our department’s M.A. requirements while working toward their Ph.D. The program requires full-time attendance.

The Department does not offer a terminal M.A. in Culture and Performance. A master's degree is not required to apply or to enter our program.

Deadlines

November 15th of the year prior to entry is the official deadline for filing an application for fall quarter enrollment. This applies to all Ph.D. applicants to the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance. Applicants are required to apply online using the application form on the Graduate Division website. Review of applications that are not complete by the November 15th deadline cannot be guaranteed. Admission to the program is for fall quarter only. Students who are admitted but do not enroll may reapply, but are not guaranteed admission at a later date.

CULTURE AND PERFORMANCE ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS DETAILS

Statement of Purpose

Applicants should submit one Statement of Purpose (1,500 word limit), which outlines how their personal and professional goals align with graduate training in our department. Applicants should feel free to describe previous experience and research as it applies to their academic goals, but the focus should be on the work that they hope to do as a graduate student in our department, as well as their future career goals. Chiefly, applicants should aim for specificity in their statements as well as use this opportunity to accentuate their clear writing skills. Keep in mind that this is a unique instance within the greater application to showcase originality in thought and action, and to illustrate not only aptitude as a student and professional, but as a passionate person at work in the world.

This section of the application is your chance to tell us what you want to do here in the Culture and Performance program. Describe your research interests in particular. What questions do you want to investigate in relation to what materials? What new knowledge and skills that apply to this interest area are you expecting to develop through graduate study in our program? Do you see evidence that the necessary resources are available at UCLA? Of course you should also address the topics given in the application materials: your purpose in applying, your area of specialization, your plans for future occupation or profession, and any additional information that may aid us in evaluating your preparation and your aptitude for graduate study at UCLA.

Please review FAQs below for other information.

Writing Sample

All applicants to our Ph.D. program must supply one writing sample. It is a very important part of your application materials. Typical writing samples include research papers, term papers, or Master's/M.Phil theses. Longer documents such as the latter might be excerpted or sent in full with specified sections to read. The applicant should ultimately choose the example that best demonstrates their writing abilities, research skills, and capacities for critical thinking. It is taken as a strong indicator of a prospective student's ability to engage with scholarly materials. Writing samples should not exceed approximately 20-25 pages.

We are looking for high quality in whatever genre is submitted. We would be particularly interested in writing that demonstrates the kind of research, analysis, and synthesis that is essential in the scholarly aspects of our doctoral program. But, if you feel your best writing falls into other genre categories, you might consider a portfolio approach to provide a good sense of the character and range of your writing skills.

While we prefer writing samples where the applicant is the sole author, we also recognize that collaborative authorship is a convention in many academic fields. If submitting a co-authored piece, the applicant should clearly specify their contributions to the project in terms of conceptualizing the framework and research questions, developing the methodology, gathering data, performing the analysis, and the writing process.

Letters of Recommendation

All applicants must provide three (3) letters of recommendation. The department would prefer to see at least one if not most of the letters of recommendation come from academic sources, such as previous professors. If you have colleagues, supervisors, non-academic instructors (such as dance teachers), etc. whom you believe can write you a strong letter of recommendation, you can choose to include them in your application materials for review. The letters should attest to your academic capabilities and your ability or potential to carry out a research project at the doctoral level.

UCLA ADMISSION APPLICATION REMINDERS

Please review additional requirements at University's graduate admissions criteria and requirements.

Requirements for International Applicants

For information about requirements for International applicants, please review UCLA Graduate Division International Applicants to Graduate School.

English Requirements

Students whose native language is not English or who did not receive their bachelor’s degree in an Anglophone country, must certify proficiency in English when applying to UCLA. This applies to U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents as well as international applicants. If you are admitted, you may also be required to confirm your proficiency upon arrival. Submit scores received on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) as part of the application. Applications are not considered complete without the test scores. Because processing, sending, and receiving TOEFL and IELTS test scores often takes several weeks, international students must schedule their examination no later than September in order to meet the Departmental deadlines. For further information about these requirements, please review UCLA Graduate Education English Requirements.

Funding Opportunities

The Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance is committed to equity, inclusion and diversity and makes great efforts to provide all entering students with financial support. Newly admitted candidates are considered for campus-wide awards prior to beginning their programs. During their first year, CAP students typically receive funding through a combination of departmental awards and employment in the form of teaching assistantships and/or graduate student researcher positions. For CAP, students are prioritized for support up to the 4th year in the program, if available. We are unable to detail funding specifics until after determining admitted cohorts. Applicants are advised to apply for their desired graduate programs first and consider the financial costs of their options after admissions decisions are made.

Entering students are encouraged to complete the fellowship section of the UCLA Graduate Application for campus-wide award opportunities and to review Funding for Entering Students.

Additionally, all students are given the opportunity to apply for Teaching Assistantship positions, which offer a quarterly salary, fee remissions, and health insurance during the term(s) of employment when working at least 25%. Typically, continuing students are informed of funding including any awards and employment during the Summer. To maintain their support packages, students must show satisfactory progress in the graduate program.

We are not a Self-supporting graduate program: Self-supporting means that all program costs, both direct and indirect, are covered by revenues generated by the program such as student charges.

UCLA Graduate Division provides a comprehensive Graduate Student Financial Support handbook to acquaint you with the range of opportunities to support graduate study at UCLA. The Graduate Division also provides a search database for additional opportunities. UCLA GRAPES allows you to search for awards from among 625 scholarships, grants, fellowships, and postdoctoral awards.

For federal financial aid, please visit the UCLA Financial Aid and Scholarships Office for eligibility requirements, application, and additional information.

Contact Us

Have a look at the FAQs below. If you have further questions, you can contact us at wacdadmissions@arts.ucla.edu

Frequently Asked Questions

Please read the following questions and answers. For an overview of the graduate school application process, you may find it beneficial to read The Gentle Guide for Applying to Graduate Schools, written by our own Dr. David Shorter.

The deadline to submit application materials for the Ph.D. in Culture and Performance is November 15th. The deadline to submit application materials for the M.F.A. in Choreographic Inquiry is December 1st. Review of application materials sent after the deadline cannot be guaranteed.

We understand that applying for graduate school can be a commitment of your time, money, and energy. Before contacting us, be sure that you have taken the first steps in determining a department's fit with your goals. Be sure to read our faculty members' profiles. Because "arts," "culture," and "dance" have come to mean so many different things, you should find overlap between your graduate research project and our faculty's areas of expertise, though this could also mean theories and/or methods. Also, be sure to look at our degree requirements and our required "core" coursework. A good sign of "fit" between applicants and a program is when the required coursework directly supports the applicant's scholarly interests. And if after these primary steps, if you still have questions, please reach out to the Vice Chair of Graduate Affairs.

Applicants apply online using the Application for Graduate Admission.

If extended an offer of admission, official transcripts are sent directly from your institution’s registrar’s office to our department, either via mail or electronically wacd-grad-sao@arts.ucla.edu or are sent by the applicant via mail but have never been opened by the applicant.

UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance
ATTN SAO OFFICE
120 Westwood Plaza
150 Kaufman Hall
Los Angeles, California 90095-1608

As part of your application, you will be required to upload a copy of an unofficial transcript. Review materials to be uploaded.

Applicants are welcome to visit the UCLA campus if they would like, but no tours of the Department are offered. Applicants can familiarize themselves with the department’s graduate degree programs and faculty by reviewing the Graduate and Faculty pages of our website. Please read the information provided on this website closely. Then, for any further questions, contact us at wacdadmissions@arts.ucla.edu. If your question is research specific, you may also email the Vice Chair of Graduate Affairs. You may also contact specific faculty members in your area of research to determine their current research interests or possible sabbatical plans in the near future. Faculty, staff and student contact information is listed on this site under People.

In addition, the following links may help you learn more about campus:
- UCLA Graduate Tours
- UCLA Virtual Tour
- UCLA Arts Prospective Students: Undergraduate & Graduate Information Request (email list) and UCLA Arts Recruitment Calendar
- UCLA Maps, Directions, and Parking

We do not offer a terminal M.A. in our Department. Students can earn their M.A. while completing the requirements for a Ph.D. All graduate students entering the Culture and Performance program at UCLA are expected to complete the Ph.D.

Please see the Program Profile Report for information regarding the admission and acceptance rates.

Please see the Program Profile Report for information regarding the admission and acceptance rates.

All applicants to our Ph.D. program must supply one writing sample. It is a very important part of your application materials. Typical writing samples include research papers, term papers, or Master's/M.Phil theses. Longer documents such as the latter might be excerpted or sent in full with specified sections to read. The applicant should ultimately choose the example that best demonstrates their writing abilities, research skills, and capacities for critical thinking. It is taken as a strong indicator of a prospective student's ability to engage with scholarly materials. Writing samples should not exceed approximately 20-25 pages.

We are looking for high quality in whatever genre is submitted. We would be particularly interested in writing that demonstrates the kind of research, analysis, and synthesis that is essential in the scholarly aspects of our doctoral program. But, if you feel your best writing falls into other genre categories, you might consider a portfolio approach to provide a good sense of the character and range of your writing skills.

While we prefer writing samples where the applicant is the sole author, we also recognize that collaborative authorship is a convention in many academic fields. If submitting a co-authored piece, the applicant should clearly specify their contributions to the project in terms of conceptualizing the framework and research questions, developing the methodology, gathering data, performing the analysis, and the writing process.

This is in addition to the Statement of Purpose required by UCLA Graduate Admissions, and will be uploaded in the supplemental document section toward the end of the application. For the WACD M.F.A. Statement on Choreographic Inquiry:
- Describe your choreographic interests.
- What questions do you want to investigate, and in relation to what sources?
- What new knowledge and skills that apply to these interest areas are you expecting to develop through graduate study?
- What do you see as evidence that the necessary resources are available at UCLA?

Please review the application for word count and page length maximum and minimum.

Possibly. The department would prefer to see at least one if not most of the letters of recommendation come from academic sources, such as previous professors. If you have colleagues, supervisors, non-academic instructors (such as dance instructors), etc that you believe can write you a strong letter of recommendation, it is your choice to have them submit a letter of recommendation which will be included in your application materials for review.

A writing sample is optional for M.F.A. applicants. However it is useful as a demonstration of the applicant's area of research interest(s) for the purpose of assessing the applicant's aptitude for graduate study at UCLA.

Please keep in mind that sending in creative work is optional. Including samples of creative work with your online application is appropriate for applicants who are working in mediums outside of solely answer-based analysis and representation. We are not asking for creative work unrelated to the proposed research project. Some examples include applicants' photographs from their fieldwork or if they are using film in their work. There is a section within the online application for uploading supporting documents. You will be able to upload PDFs here, for example, you may upload a page listing links to your online materials.

No. The GRE is not required for M.F.A. in Choreographic Inquiry or the Ph.D. in Culture and Performance. If you submit your GRE scores, they will not be included in your application for review.

Our process for reviewing Ph.D applications begins on November 15th. While it obviously takes time to fully review the applications, we cannot hold certain applications to be reviewed later. So in the case of late materials, while your file may still be reviewed without a Letter of Recommendation, there is always the possibility that such an absence will result in a negative evaluation since we have fewer materials to make a fair, comparative assessment. All applications are weighed by the same standard, including the announced deadlines.

No. Ph.D. students must complete the requirement no later than the end of the fifth quarter of residence in the major. Please see Ph.D. degree requirements.

Newly admitted candidates are considered for campus-wide awards prior to beginning their programs. During their first year, MFA and CAP students typically receive funding through a combination of departmental awards and employment in the form of teaching assistantships and/or graduate student researcher positions. For MFA students, funding opportunities through employment are available for their second year. For CAP, students are prioritized for support up to the 4th year in the program, if available. We are unable to detail funding specifics until after determining admitted cohorts. Applicants are advised to apply for their desired graduate programs first and consider the financial costs of their options after admissions decisions are made.

Entering students are encouraged to complete the fellowship section of the UCLA Graduate Application for campus-wide award opportunities. Please visit the Graduate Division website which provides extensive financial information for the prospective student.

Once a decision has been made, an email will be sent from the Graduate Division to the email address you provided in the application. The email does not contain the decision; instead, you will be advised how to access your decision letter. Admission can often take a few months for a variety of reasons as the process is lengthy and involved. Generally, applicants are informed sometime in March or April.

Please review theStandards & Procedures for Graduate Study.
- Transfer of Credit
- Through petition, courses completed in graduate status on other UC campuses may apply to master’s programs at UCLA, provided they were not used toward a previous degree. Such courses may fulfill up to one-half of the total course requirement, one-half of the graduate course requirement, and one-third of the academic residence requirement.
- A maximum of two courses completed with a minimum grade of ‘B’ in graduate status at institutions other than UC may apply to UCLA master’s programs. Two courses would be the equivalent of eight quarter units or five semester units. They may not fulfill the minimum five-graduate-course requirement or the academic residence requirement. The approval of the Graduate Division and the student’s major department is required on a petition for transfer of credit.
- Courses taken for any other degree previously awarded at UCLA or another institution, and courses taken before the award of the bachelor’s degree may not be applied toward a graduate degree at UCLA.
- Correspondence courses are not applicable to graduate degrees.

Opportunities to enroll in classes are based upon space availability and instructor consent through the "concurrent enrollment" program offered through UCLA Extension. As a general rule, students may not audit courses in the Department of World Arts and Cultural/Dance.

You are advised to create a Technical Support ticket (using the link provided in the application) if you encounter a technical issue. That will ensure the university vendor is aware of the problem and can work with you to resolve it.

We regularly admit a very small percentage of those applying and it remains difficult to address the varied reasons why an application fares better in our review process. More often than not, the contours of an applicant's research do not align with the short-term availability or research interests of our faculty. Perhaps an applicant proposed working with a faculty member who is shifting their research focus or planning to be away from the campus in the upcoming years. Often, an application is rated lower if the proposed project could be developed in a more standard academic department since we necessarily want to favor those applications that particularly need our department's curriculum or the influences provided by our campus and community. Before writing us regarding your admission denial, please recognize that we will not reverse any acceptance decisions for this academic year. Additionally, many factors cannot be discussed such as contents of letters of recommendation. Lastly, do feel free to apply again in the future.

University requirements state that unless granted a formal leave of absence, continuing graduate students who fail to register are considered to have withdrawn from the University and must compete for readmission with all other applicants. Thus, applicants who were previously registered at any time as graduate students at UCLA, whether having completed a graduate program or not, must submit an online application with the application fee. A formal application for readmission is not required for students who are returning from an official leave of absence. 
1. Notify the department’s Student Affairs Officer at wacd-grad-sao@arts.ucla.edu that an application is forthcoming;
2. Submit an online application to the University. Application fee is required. Requests for the letters of recommendation or transcripts are not required for readmission; 
3. In the place of a Statement of Purpose, submit a short letter outlining your detailed plans for a timely completion of degree; 
4. In the Plans for Graduate Study section of the application, select application type "Readmit w Dept Rec."

As a current or returning graduate student, your best companion is Graduate Division’s Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA. This document is under the purview of Graduate Division and is updated whenever policies and/or procedures change for graduate students at UCLA.

All current students are welcome to take dance and choreography classes here at WACD. Some popular classes may fill early, so be sure to register as soon as you are able. All students can register for beginning level classes, which are intended for students who are new to dance, or to a particular style of dance. For example, an experienced ballet dancer may wish to take a beginning West African dance class. Intermediate and advanced levels require attendance at the placement class that happens at the first class meeting at the beginning of each quarter. The placement process allows the instructors to ensure that students are enrolled in the class that most suits their needs at the time, and is not a personal judgment or a statement about potential. If you’re not sure what styles of dance or what levels are right for you, please email the instructor. In the case of a beginning level class you may simply show up to class on the first day of class. Bear in mind, however, that there is no guarantee you will be allowed to enroll in a class if it is full. WACD undergraduate and graduate students have first priority once classes are full.

Current students periodically need dancers for showings related to their degree progress. Sometimes auditions are posted, while other times fellow dance class attendees are approached. Check the WACD bulletin boards posted throughout the department for audition information. There is also an annual faculty-choreographed showcase during spring quarter every year. Audition information will be posted in the department.

Please do not send your application materials to us in advance or request feedback on them. To keep the process fair, faculty or staff cannot assess your materials or advise you on how to prepare them. We read and evaluate your materials solely during our formal application review cycle.

Please visit UCLA Graduate Programs Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Admissions.

M.F.A. in Choreographic Inquiry Admissions