Undergraduate Admission to the College of Visual and Performing Arts

Admission to the College of Visual and Performing Arts is contingent on acceptance into the university through the USF Office of Admissions. Additionally, students who wish to major or minor in art, dance, music, or theatre should contact the respective School. Admission is open in the School of Art & Art History and for theatre majors. Auditions are required for admission to the Dance program and the School of Music and must occur on specific dates as posted by those programs. All prospective students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts must complete the necessary forms in the Office of Student Services and Advising in FAH 120 in order to be on file as majors or minors.

Although the Art and Theatre programs are open admission programs, transfer students and current USF students who request admission to these programs must be placed according to their abilities. Hence, art studio students should have their portfolios evaluated for credit they are attempting to transfer into their degree. Theatre students wishing to concentrate in performance or design must audition or have a portfolio reviews for acceptance into the upper-division concentration courses. Dance and music students must complete successful auditions prior to Orientation and registration for their home unit's core courses.

The College of Visual and Performing Arts Office of Student Services and Advising, located in the Fine Arts building, offers a comprehensive service to all fine arts students and advice to non-majors who are interested in taking fine arts courses. The service includes Preview USF, Fantastic Friday, registration, academic advising, scholarships, graduation certification, mentorship programs, and referrals to other university and community-based services and career-related opportunities. Four major-field advisors (art, dance, music, theatre), Advising Coordinator, Visual and Performing Arts Project Thrust Advisor, and support staff work with students toward their matriculation according to curricular outlines. However, the student must remember that he or she is ultimately responsible for meeting all graduation requirements.

The goals of the office of Student Services and Advising are to

• Help students clarify their life and career goals
• Help students develop their educational plans
• Help students select appropriate courses
• Help students interpret institutional requirements
• Evaluate student progress toward established goals
• Facilitate total student development
• Foster the development of individual student's talent to the fullest

Advising Office

Tampa Campus: College of Visual and Performing Arts (FAH), Room 120, (813) 974-3660. The College is located centrally, just west of the Contemporary Art Museum and Marshall Center.

1. All degree programs require 120 credit hours, with the exception of the Music Education degree (134).

2. General Education Requirements may be satisfied by (1) completing the university's General Education Requirements, (2) completing the A.A. degree from a Florida Junior or Community College, or (3) completing the general education requirements from another Florida state university. General education courses transferred from other accredited institutions will be evaluated based on USF General Education equivalencies. The A.A. degree is in no way a requirement for acceptance into the College of Visual and Performing Arts (or into any one of its upper-level degree programs), or a requirement for graduation from the university.

3. Students admitted to the College of Visual and Performing Arts with transfer credits, or former students returning with credits dating ten or more years prior to admission (or readmission), will have those credits reviewed by the College and department/school and may be required to take specified competency tests in their major area.

4. All majors in the College of Visual and Performing Arts must take six fine arts credit hours in a field other than the major discipline. Transfer of special fine arts credits must be evaluated by an advisor. Special Fine Arts courses may be taken as S/U grading.

5. A maximum number of ROTC credits totaling no more than the maximum allowed in the Free Elective Area for each major may be counted toward all degrees.

6. A maximum of four credit hours of elective Physical Education credits taken at USF may be counted as general elective credit toward all degrees.

7. Students must satisfactorily complete the College Level Academic Skills Test CLAST and the writing and computation course requirement of 6A-10.30 (Gordon Rule).

Students applying for a B.A. degree must demonstrate competency in a foreign language as described under Foreign Language Competency Policy of this catalog.

For degree programs, see requirements listed under each School.

A minimum of 20 credit hours in the major unit must be earned in residence. This requirement, however, may be waived by the school based on examination (e.g., portfolio review, audition). A student must also earn 30 of the last 60 hours of credits in residence at USF. However, any course work to be taken and any credits to be earned outside of the university must have prior approval from the appropriate school and the college in order to apply these credits toward graduation.

Waiver of prerequisite course work totaling no more than 12 credit hours in the major or Visual and Performing Arts College requirements is possible by demonstration of competence. Unless credit is awarded by approved official tests, i.e., A.P., CLEP, the credit hours must be made up according to school or college recommendations. A faculty committee conducts waiver reviews. Specific questions concerning program requirements for all degrees in the College or other related problems should be directed to the College of Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator of Advising.

College Policy for Academic Progress

The following criteria will serve as the bases for disenrollment from a major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts:

1. Grade point average below 2.0 in the major.
2. Recommendation by major applied (studio) art, dance, music or theatre faculty with approval of respective school director.
3. The school may recommend probationary status (rather than disenrollment) for one semester when academic progress is not maintained.

Contracts and Permission Procedures

Directed Studies Contracts
All Directed Studies and other variable credit courses in the College of Visual and Performing Arts require contracts between students and instructors describing the work to be undertaken by the student and specifying the credit hours. These contracts are to be completed in quadruplicate and appropriately signed. It is the student's responsibility to obtain the necessary signatures and make the required distribution of all copies. Important: the student must have his/her signed copy of a contract at the time of registration.

S/U Grade Contracts
The College of Visual and Performing Arts requires that any S/U grading agreement entered into between student and instructor be formalized by a contract in quadruplicate signed by the student and the instructor and distributed according to instructions.

"I" Grade Contracts
Incompletes must be contracted for by mutual agreement between student and instructor, with the contract describing specifically the amount and nature of the work to be completed for the removal of the incomplete grade. This contract additionally clearly specifies the date that the work will be due (within legal limits) for grading. Both the student and the instructor must sign this contract and the four copies must be distributed according to instructions. A student must not register for a course again to remove an "I" grade.

1. Non-majors enrolled in courses in the College of Visual and Performing Arts may undertake such courses on an S/U basis with instructor approval. See Contracts and Permission Procedures for information concerning S/U Grade Contracts.

2. Credits earned by a non-major student with an "S" grade will not count toward the student's minimum major course graduation requirement should that student ultimately decide to become a major student in one of the four arts disciplines in the College. Instead, such credits earned with an "S" grade will be assigned to the student's Free Elective category (with the exception of music, which will become non-countable).

3. Although Visual and Performing Arts majors may take coursework in their major as Free Electives, they are not entitled to the S/U grading option for these courses taken in their major subject area, even when specifically used or intended to be used as Free Electives.

4. In the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the only S/U graded courses available to a major student in his major subject area are those curriculum allowable courses designated S/U (that is, S/U only).

5. A maximum of 9 credit hours of S/U credits in non-major courses may apply towards a degree in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Please refer to Academic Policies section for more information concerning the university's S/U Grading policy.

Dean's List Honors

See Academic Policies and Procedures, Programs and Services.

Interdisciplinary Study

There is no formal interdisciplinary arts degree offered in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. However, it is possible for a student to pursue such a program of study in the College by utilizing free electives allowed in the major program. A student may also choose a double undergraduate major in two units or arts disciplines within the College of Visual and Performing Arts as a means of interdisciplinary study. See the major advisor in the programs of particular interest.

Minor Programs

The College of Visual and Performing Arts offers minor programs in Art, Dance, Music, and Theatre. Majors in the College of Visual and Performing Arts may pursue a minor in any certified minors program at USF except within the same arts discipline as the major. The requirements for these programs are located under the school academic program descriptions and also require that a minimum of eight hours be taken at USF. For university minor policy, consult that section in the catalog.