How To Apply
When applying to our programs in Dance/Movement Therapy & Counseling—the MA program, the Graduate Laban CMA, the Alternate Route Certificate, or the Movement Pattern Analysis Certificate (MPACC)—you will need to submit the following materials:
- ONLINE APPLICATION, with application fee
- SELF-ASSESSMENT ESSAY:
- For Dance/Movement Therapy MA & Alternate Route, please write about your experiences (courses, workshops, etc.) in which you have participated. Include dates, length of time, instructor, and a brief description. Also include your interest and background in the behavioral sciences including volunteer work, and discuss reasons for wanting to be a dance/movement therapist.
- For the Graduate Laban CMA program, please write about your understanding/experience with Laban Movement Analysis. Also include any experience you've had with movement such as dance, yoga, Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique and how you plan on using the Laban certificate in the future.
- For the MPACC certificate program, please write about why you want to be a Movement Pattern Analysis Consultant, and how your background prepared you for this field. What do you hope to be doing with your certification five years from now?
NOTE: If you are applying to two DMT programs you will need to upload your two self-assessment essays as one combined .pdf or word document.
- TWO LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
- RESUME
- An OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT from any and all colleges/universities attended
-
WORK SAMPLE (required for applicants to the MA program and the Alternate Route Certificate program): Please submit a short (1 to 3 minute) video clip of you dancing in your preferred dance style. It can be a selection of a performance or a piece of your own choreography as long as you are moving in it. You must identify yourself in the piece.
Work Sample Submission Method:
You may upload your work sample file to our online portfolio submission portal at columgrad.slideroom.com.* For best image quality and faster uploads, your video file should be sized to fit within 1024 x 768 pixels. Permitted file type and size limits are:
> VIDEO: mov, .wmv, .flv — 60 MB per file maximumOur SlideRoom portal offers additional instruction for submitting work, including a very helpful video tutorial. For technical assistance, visit slideroom.zendesk.com. Please direct any other questions about work samples to the Graduate Office at 312-369-7260.
*SlideRoom charges users a $5 transaction fee. By using SlideRoom, applicants avoid the expense of copying and mailing their work samples and avoid the risk of corrupted files, lost mail, broken discs, or cross-platform issues. Additionally, applicants can rest assured that the Graduate Committee on Admissions will experience their portfolio exactly how they intended.
APPLICANTS ARE ENCOURAGED to use the space provided in the “Short Answers and Essays” section of the online application to list any psychology courses, dance classes, or other courses not included on your transcripts. Be sure to mention the types of dance you have studied, along with the number of years you have studied and the number of classes each week. If applicable, mention any teaching, performing, or choreography experiences.
PREREQUISITES:
- MA Program: Successful applicants will have taken at least three undergraduate courses in psychology. Recommended courses include General Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Personality Development and/or Psychophysiology. Anatomy and Kinesiology is also required (Note: other names for this course include Biomechanics, Anatomy/Kinesiology, Anatomy for Dancers, and, in some cases, Introduction to Exercise Science). Unlike the psychology prerequisites, the anatomy/kinesiology course can be one course covering both topics and can be a certificate (i.e. taken online, at a community college, or through a massage/yoga studio). Finally, we require at least 5 years of dance experience.
- Alternate Route Certificate: The Alternate Route requires an MA or PhD in a human services-related field, such as counseling, psychology, social work, special education, dance education, a creative arts therapy, family therapy, occupational therapy, psychiatric nursing, or medicine from an accredited school. Applicants are also expected to have taken Anatomy/ Kinesiology for 45 hours or 3 credits.
- GL-CMA: Successful applicants will have taken an anatomy course or earned an anatomy course certificate.
- MPACC: Top applicants will: (a) have a deep interest in understanding other people through the disciplined observation and analysis of movement behavior (b) be engaged in counseling, coaching, and other forms of individual consultative relationships and/or (c) work in human resource, leadership training, and organizational development contexts.
PLEASE NOTE: A group Dance/Movement Assessment Interview is required as part of the admission process before acceptance into the program is final. You will be contacted by the Dance/Movement Therapy & Counseling Department if they feel your application warrants your attendance at the Movement Assessment Interview.
Those applying to the DMT&C MA program, Alternate Route and Graduate Laban CMA programs for Fall 2013 may be invited to the Movement Assessment Interview on March 9, 2013.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS must submit all of the above materials, as well as an official TOEFL score and a credential evaluation. Additional documents are required of admitted students. Please visit our International Students page for more information.