Four US Colleges Launch New Dance Majors Amid Arts Program Cuts

Despite a trend of colleges cutting arts programs, four US institutions have introduced new dance degrees. Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, launched a BA in dance in fall 2024, created by tap dancer Aaron Tolson, who was recruited to build a new dance department. Samford University near Birmingham, Alabama, started a BA in dance in 2025, designed by assistant professor Alisa McCool to fill a gap left by a shuttered local dance program. Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, will offer a BFA in dance and choreography for musical theater starting fall 2026, part of a restructuring that created the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, will begin a BA in dance in fall 2026, evolving from existing minor tracks and receiving unanimous approval. The new programs emphasize tailored curricula: Vassar focuses on cross-disciplinary collaboration, Ithaca on musical theater and choreography, Saint Anselm on individual genre focus with a semester at Broadway Dance Center, and Samford on small cohorts and flexibility. Faculty cite student demand, institutional reputation, and filling regional gaps as motivations.