About the Program
The Dance program at Houston Community College strives to develop well-rounded, culturally diverse, thinking dancers.
AWARD TYPES: Associate in Arts
AREA OF STUDY: Liberal Arts & Humanities
Degrees and Certificates
Learn more about the Degrees and Certificates offered by this program by visiting the HCC Catalog.
To be eligible for an Associate in Arts (AA), an Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT), or an Associate in Science (AS) degree from HCC, a student must successfully:
Complete at least 60 semester hours of credit as follows: (a) for the AA degree, 43 hours of required core courses and 17 hours of transferable electives, usually focusing on the student's transfer major (b) for the AAT degree, 44 hours of required core courses plus 16-18 hours of required pre-teaching courses (c) for the AS degree, 43 hours of required core courses plus six additional hours of mathematics, four additional hours of natural science, and 7 hours of transferable electives, usually focusing on the student's transfer major.
Additional Degree Requirements
A student who has received an associate degree or higher from an accredited institution must meet specific requirements to earn an additional degree from HCC.
- The student must complete a minimum of 18 semester hours at HCC for each additional degree. These hours may not repeat credit applied from a previous HCC degree. These hours may not be satisfied through credit by exam.
- All additional hours must be applicable toward the additional degree. If the student has prior credit in required courses, appropriate substitutions may be arranged.
- All courses required by the specific HCC program of the additional degree must be completed.
- A grade point average of at least 2.0 must be earned on all hours since the previous degree.
- Academic courses from previous degrees may be applied to an additional AAS degree required academic core where equivalent and appropriate, which waives the need for approval, except where program restrictions prevail.
- If the first degree was an Associate in Arts, an Associate of Arts in Teaching, Associate in Science, a bachelor degree, or higher degree from an accredited educational institution in the United States, the student will be considered to be “Core Complete”, thus needing to complete only the requirement of 18 additional semester hours at HCC toward a new associate degree.
- Each additional academic associate degree obtained from HCC must be of a different type. Thus, a student may only obtain one Associate in Arts, one Associate of Arts in Teaching, and/or one Associate in Science from HCC. For example, if one degree from HCC was an AA, then any additional degrees must be an AAT, AS, or AAS.
- Multiple Associate of Applied Science degrees may be earned from HCC if all AAS program requirements are met including earning at least 18 additional semester hours at HCC, 12 of which must be earned in the major program of the additional degree. In most cases, however, there is only one AAS degree allowable per workforce program. See counselor or program chair for clarification.
- Multiple workforce Certificates of Completion may be earned from HCC if all program requirements are met for each certificate including earning at least 9 additional unique semester hours at HCC toward the major program of the additional certificate.
- All other state and institutional graduation requirements, including TSI policies and financial obligations, must be met.
Houston is one of the great dance cities in that it supports many mid-sized dance companies, has a myriad of affordable studio and theater spaces available, offers dance in K-12 programs, and is home to a wide variety and number of private dance studios.
In general, the career opportunities in dance are numerous and varied. Many graduates go on to teach studio dance classes at all educational levels. Graduates also go on to work with many of the local dance companies Houston has to offer.
Dance program graduates also transfer to a number of Bachelor's degree programs, such as the University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, Texas Womens University, Stephen F. Austin University, Lamar University, Texas State University, and the University of North Texas.
There are 369 Dancers employed in the Greater Houston Area. This number is expected to increase by 5.1% over the next four years.
- The estimated annual job openings is 18 jobs a year.
- Median Wages - $13.35 hourly, $28,000 annually
Hybrid Programs Restrictions
Hybrid programs allow students to take a mix of online and face-to-face courses. Hybrid programs offer 50% to 85% of their courses online and the remainder of the curriculum is taken in-person on one of HCC’s campuses. Please contact your advisor for more information about specific program requirements.
Language Option Restrictions
Some hybrid programs require students to participate in foreign language courses as part of the program’s required curriculum. Please contact your advisor for more information about specific program requirements and available language options. If you would like to take courses in a language that is not offered online, you would have to do so on campus.
Elective Course Restrictions
Some hybrid programs may have a limited number of elective options available, based on which of the designated electives are currently offered online. Please contact your advisor for more information about specific program requirements.
Required Course Restrictions
Hybrid programs require students to participate in campus-based courses as part of a given program’s required curriculum. Please contact your advisor for more information about specific program requirements.
Potential Course Restrictions
Some online courses may have face-to-face requirements for exams, laboratory sessions, and other activities. Please review your course syllabus to determine if your online course has an on-campus laboratory or examination requirement.
Learn more about the marketable skills—skills valued by employers that can be applied in variety of work settings—so you can communicate these to potential employers. Click on the relevant award title below to see descriptions of marketable skills for that area.
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