Ph.D. Low-Residency Format

The low-residency Ph.D. program is structured to meet the needs of students wanting to maintain their professional responsibilities while pursuing doctoral studies.  On-campus residencies consist of summer intensives, as well as one-week campus visits during the fall and spring semesters.  Students will be continually engaged in their coursework throughout each semester and will work closely with faculty and their doctoral colleagues in the program.  The residential intensives, interwoven with web-based interactions, will facilitate scholarly discourse intended to connect the exploration of artistic practice and pedagogy with students’ professional and research interests.

The low-residential format is designed for students entering the program with strong backgrounds in artistic practice, dance writing, analysis, and/or pedagogical practice.  The ideal prospective student will have been engaged in professional practice in higher education and/or artistic settings for five or more years, as well as having breadth of knowledge in the discipline of dance and well-developed professional writing skills.  Students applying for the low-residential format must be continuously enrolled throughout the duration of the coursework and attendance is required for all on-campus residencies.

It is possible for those enrolled in the low-residential format to be in-residence should they be on sabbatical or granted professional leaves.  If this is possible, students may elect to be in full-time residence for a semester or longer.  In every instance, we encourage doctoral students to connect their professional practice to their coursework in the program and their personal research agendas.  On-going conversations between the TWU faculty and doctoral students, both on and off campus, shape and stimulate scholarly discourse that will lead to personally and professionally relevant contributions of new knowledge to the field of dance.