How to Double Major in Dance and Science: A BFA/BS tells all
How to…Balance a Science Major with Dance
As told by Dance & intern, Lila Hodgin
As dancers begin to look at options for college, many of them find themselves drawn towards a second interest. Whether it be arts administration, education, or otherwise, some double majors are easily compatible with dance and oftentimes align well in terms of course requirements. At the same time, other majors can feel daunting and sometimes impossible, such as business or science majors. Here, we’re going to focus on the latter, as I recently graduated with a BFA in Contemporary Dance and a BA in Biology from Indiana University–and therefore have some advice on how to pursue science with dance!
#1: Time Management
This is perhaps the biggest and most obvious thing that comes to mind when pursuing any double major combination. When meeting with your advisor for the first time, it’s important to understand that your schedule in college is going to look VERY different than it did in high school. I’m sure many of us were used to having school from early in the morning to 2/3pm, only to head to dance until 9/10pm, and still have homework to do at the end of the night. Your class schedule in college is likely going to feel empty when looking at it (even though it’s probably not!). You’ll have rehearsals, clubs, study blocks, and adulting that fill up the ‘empty’ time. Going into the scheduling process knowing this will help you get a clearer sense of what’s realistic for you!
Another important component of time management is knowing what platform or organization method works best for you. I’m a huge proponent of google calendar, but many people find success in other platforms or a written planner. Having a place to track classes, events, deadlines, and to-dos is immensely helpful when starting your undergraduate career, especially as a double major.
#2: Do the Research
Something I think is important to note is knowing how general education requirements work at your school of interest. In my case, both of my majors fell in the same school, The College of Arts and Sciences. This meant that all my general education requirements overlapped and I didn’t have additional coursework in that realm. However, this might be different depending on the school, so it’s good to look at the degree maps for your majors of interest.
It can also be helpful to see if your school of interest’s dance department has a lot of students that complete two majors, as a gauge of whether it’s possible to complete. Some schools are pretty adamant on the fact that their majors pursue multiple interests, whereas others make it clear that their students solely study dance.
#3: Communication (it’s key!)
In order to maintain smooth sailing through both degrees, it’s important to keep clear and consistent communication with everyone involved: your dance Professors, your science Professors, and your advisor. Your advisor is there to help you build a plan to complete your interests successfully and in a reasonable fashion. That being said, you should confide in them with questions or potential concerns before any real problems arise. If they know you and your commitment to the pursuit of both dance and science, they’ll be more apt to assist than a student they don’t know or meet with on a semi-regular basis.
With regard to your dance and science professors, it’s important that one understands the obligations of the other, and vice versa. For example, I had a Chemistry course that required Wednesday evening exams a couple times throughout the semester. Knowing this when I enrolled in the course, I made sure to alert my dance Professors so as not to be cast in pieces that rehearsed during that time. Another example includes a lesson on transparency. I enrolled in a science course, and at the beginning of the semester, I had a conversation with my Professor about extra rehearsals during tech and show weeks for dance. This particular Professor was not keen on my missing lectures/labs for that week, and I ended up having to enroll in a different course at a different time. While certainly not ideal, I was able to drop/add a course that still fit my academic plans and wouldn’t hurt my grades in the long term.
This leads me into my final point, which is…
#4: Stay open-minded
I started college thinking I was going to graduate with a BFA in Contemporary Dance and a BS in Biology, Pre-Med. I quickly realized as I took my science coursework that I was drawn to different aspects of Biology–the reading, the research, the discovery. This caused me to re-evaluate my degree plan and led to a change to a Bachelor of Arts in Biology instead. I was able to take all the science classes I was excited about without some extraneous requirements that the BS had. This made more sense for me and gave me the freedom to pursue my interests outside the classroom for both dance AND biology.