The College of Visual and Performing Arts offers highly-focused undergraduate programs of study designed to prepare students for professional work in the arts, in education, and beyond.
Learn more about our undergraduate programs and resources below.
Arts Management
Overview and Contact Information
Advisor/Contact: Dr. Karalee Dawn MacKay
Arts Management is a developing field established to meet the ever-growing demand for leadership and organizational expertise within arts and cultural organizations, both private and public.
The Minor in Arts Management is open to all CVPA majors as well as art history majors. Non-CVPA students must complete 9 credits of arts-related coursework to be eligible for this minor.
The Accelerated Master’s in Arts Management is open to students in any undergraduate degree program at Mason.
Dance
Overview and Contact Information
Advisor/Contact: Kim Harris
The BFA in Dance is a performance-oriented contemporary dance program designed to prepare students professionally as performers, choreographers, educators, and active leaders of the dance community. Students in this program demonstrate technical mastery and devote their college study to an intensive and comprehensive dance curriculum.
The Minor in Dance Appreciation offers students the opportunity to study a variety of movement styles and understand dance in its historical and cultural context. The Minor in World Dance develops knowledge and appreciation of the vast diaspora of the philosophies, history, and cultural diversity of global dance forms.
Art
Overview and Contact Information
Advisor/Contact: Robert Yi
George Mason University’s School of Art is a collaborative academic and professional community focused on advancing creativity through traditional and new media applied to varying social contexts.
- Art and Visual Technology BA
- Art and Visual Technology BFA in Studio Art
- Art and Visual Technology BFA in Graphic Design
- Art and Visual Technology, BFA/Art Education, Accelerated MAT
- Art and Visual Technology, BA/Arts Management, Accelerated MA
- Art and Visual Technology, BFA/Arts Management, Accelerated MA
- Graphic Design Certificate
Game
Overview and Contact Information
Advisor/Contact: Jeremy Tuohy
The program offers a Computer Game Design BFA, a Minor in Game Design, a Minor in Sport and Computer Game Design. Students can also enroll at Mason Korea for their BFA in Computer Game Design, spending 3 years in Korea and one year in the U.S. at Mason's Fairfax campus.
Film
Overview and Contact Information
Advisor/Contact: Maddie Portnoy
The Film and Video Studies BA degree is the first multidisciplinary undergraduate degree in Virginia focusing on cinematic arts production and film theory and history with core courses in ethics, business, writing for the moving image, fiction, documentary, interactive storytelling and episodic television.
Music
Overview and Contact Information
Advisor/Contact: Carrie Ann Delaney
The Music BA degree offers three concentrations:
- General Music Studies
- Music Technology
- Music Pedagogy
The Music, BM degree programs offer five concentrations:
- Performance (Vocal, Instrumental, Percussion)
- Jazz Studies
- Composition
- Music Education, and
- Music Technology.
Minors
Accelerated Degrees:
Theater
Overview and Contact Information
Advisor/Contact: Sara Simanski
The Theater, BA has four areas of concentration each with its own admissions requirements:
- Theater Studies
- Theater Education for Theater Arts PK-12
- Performance (Acting and Directing) Concentration
- Design and Technical Theater Concentration
The Theater BFA has three areas of concentration each with its own admissions requirements:
- Performance for Stage and Screen (Acting and Directing) Concentration
- Design for Stage and Screen Concentration
- Musical Theater Concentration
Four-Year Degree Plans
Art
Computer Game Design
Dance
Film and Video Studies
Music
Students must meet with their Academic Advisor to discuss policies and procedures for submitting any request or form. For specific situations, please refer to the information below.
Registration at George Mason
Credit Overload Policy
Undergraduate students in good standing (cumulative GPA at or above 2.0) are permitted to enroll in up to 18 hours of coursework per semester. In exceptional circumstances, students may request an overload of the maximum credit hours allowed. Requests must be approved at the academic advisor level before consideration by the CVPA Academic Affairs Office.
Leave of Absence
All undergraduate students who are planning an absence from George Mason must submit a formal request for Leave of Absence through the online portal provided by the Registrar's Office. Students do not need to request a Leave of Absence if they are participating in a university-sponsored study abroad program or have received permission to study elsewhere. Find the full university policy on Leave of Absence described under AP 1.8.
Registration Elsewhere
Study Elsewhere
Students wishing to take a course at a different institution must get pre-approval from both the CVPA academic dean and the academic dean for the requested course (two signatures). There are specific circumstances when this can be approved.
Students are permitted to take up to a maximum of 9 credit hours elsewhere if they meet the following criteria at a minimum:
- Fewer than 60 credit hours of transfer coursework,
- A minimum 2.0 GPA at the time of the request.
Notes:
- If a course is offered at Mason Korea or George Mason Fairfax, whether online or face-to-face, permission will NOT be granted to take this course elsewhere except in the case of unusual circumstances. Students may submit a study elsewhere request to take general elective courses or courses that are not being offered at the campus in which they are studying.
- Students in their first semester of coursework at George Mason are ineligible for Study Elsewhere.
- Financial hardship alone is not a sufficient reason for approval of a study elsewhere request.
- Once approved, courses elsewhere must be taken for a grade and be passed with a grade of C or higher in order to be transferred back to George Mason. Although credit for the course will be transferred, the grade for the course will not.
Students should also review the policies under AP.1.4.2 Permission to Study Elsewhere in the George Mason catalog.
Registration for Inactive Students
Re-enrollment
Students who have been away from the university, who either did not submit a leave of absence form or were ineligible to take a formal leave of absence, and who have been away for fewer than four semesters must re-enroll in order to register for courses. Please connect with your academic advisor first, and then utilize the online portal through the Registrar’s office to submit a re-enrollment request.
Return from Dismissal
Students returning from dismissal from the university must submit a request to return to George Mason through their Academic Advisor, but only after a minimum of three calendar years from the university. See item AP.5.2.6 in the University Catalog for more information.
Suspended Students
Students Returning from Suspension
Students in academic standing of suspension have a registration hold placed on their record that prevents enrollment in future coursework. Upon return from the suspension period, the student must have an Academic Advisor Approval form and Student Success Plan reviewed by their advisor and signed. After the form and plan have been completed, they must be submitted to the CVPA Academic Affairs Office for final approval. Upon receipt by the CVPA Academic Affairs Office, students will be advised about an additional requirement of completion of a Learning Services workshop. Upon completion of that workshop, the hold will be removed.
Deadlines to request a return from suspension:
- December 1 for the following spring semester
- April 15 for the following fall semester (students missing this deadline may be approved on a case-by-case basis).
Other Requests and Procedures
Change of Grade
All requests must originate from the professor of the course. For assistance, please see your Academic Advisor.
Grade Appeal Process
- Students wishing to appeal a final grade in a CVPA course must start with a written request (email is fine) to the instructor of the course, citing reasons and/or any new information as to why the posted grade is being appealed. Instructors have at least one week to respond to such requests.
- If the instructor of the course does not find suitable justification for a revised final grade, the appeal process moves forward to the department of the course – contact information below. Students must contact the department and follow whatever procedure is required and outlined by each department.
- If the department of the course does not find suitable justification for a revised final grade, the appeal process moves forward to the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs as the final step. Students must submit a formal, written narrative (email is fine), detailing the circumstances of the appeal, as well as any documentation such as attempt(s) at communication with instructor, course syllabus, student transcript showing the current grade, course papers, any other relevant documentation.
Decisions made by the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs are final.
Other Complaints and Grievances
-
Academic Complaints
Students may file a formal complaint and provide supporting documentation to the CVPA Office of Student Affairs for an academic reason and/or as an escalation beyond the department of their major. Students may remain anonymous in these complaints if they prefer. -
Reporting an Instance of Bias or Discrimination
Learn how to Report Bias and Discrimination. -
Non-Academic Complaints
Students may file a formal written complaint to the University for a non-academic reason by visiting the central Complaints page.
Substitutions and Waivers
Substitution/Waiver request forms are used to either substitute or waive a degree requirement. For CVPA students, these requests require a signature from the Assistant Dean. The form is reviewed and approved by the college that houses the major or minor.
Withdrawals
Non-Academic Withdrawals
Students may request a withdrawal after the drop deadline for non-academic reasons. Requests are considered only under exceptional circumstances. Students will need to provide verifiable, third-party documentation with the request.
In order to request a withdrawal, you must submit the CVPA Undergraduate Student Request for Withdrawal form to your advisor. If approved by your Advisor, this form must be submitted to the CVPA Academic Affairs office for review.
Selective Withdrawals
Students enrolled in degree programs may process a maximum of three selective withdrawals during their entire undergraduate career at Mason. The three classes may have any number of credits. Refer to the university catalog for more information.
Termination from Arts Undeclared
Arts Undeclared is not a degree-granting major and is only intended to be a temporary track for certain incoming students to George Mason. The expectation is that a portfolio will be submitted or an audition completed within 1-2 semesters of George Mason enrollment. Failure to complete the audition/portfolio step, and/or failure to achieve a successful audition or portfolio result, will result in a mandatory change of program to Exploratory, to allow the student more time to determine what major path they would prefer to follow.
Termination from the Major
Students in CVPA with evidence of failure to make adequate progress toward successful completion of major-specific coursework will be terminated from the school or program and reclassified as Exploratory. Adequate progress is determined by the faculty of the major program. Students will receive advance notification from the department, school, or program about this and can elect to declare a different major voluntarily (observing any additional requirements from the new intended major). For more information, see AP.5.2.4 Termination from the Major.