Purchase College promises a different kind of liberal arts education—one where the merging of the liberal arts and sciences with the arts is natural and encouraged.
Arts Courses Open to Non-Majors
Most courses offered by the BA programs in the School of the Arts are open to students in other disciplines at Purchase College. These are offered under the regular course prefix for the discipline (for example, AMG for arts management and THP for theatre and performance).
In addition, many courses offered by the BFA and MusB programs in the School of the Arts are also open to students in other disciplines at Purchase College, in most cases without audition or permission of the instructor.
Below is a preview of the courses currently offered, which includes the interdisciplinary Discovering the Arts.
Please check the Course Search for restrictions on specific sections and/or prerequisites and a more extensive list of all offerings. Search Arts Open Access to view a list of the classes offered each semester.
Arts Open Access
Discovering the Arts
Art+Design
Graphic Design
Social Design (open to New Media students)
Printmaking
Introduction to Printmaking
Painting and Drawing
Introduction to Drawing
Sculpture
Introduction to Sculpture
Introduction to Video Art
Digital Tools and Digital Dimensions (open to New Media students)
Theater of the Oppressed
Performance
Photography
Introduction to Digital Photography
Intro to Color Photography
Contemplative Photography
Photo I
Photography II: Darkroom to Digital
Still Motion
Visual Arts
Art in the Age of Electronic Media
Arts for Social Change
Make, Mix, Move
Crossover
Dance
Introduction to Ballet
Hip-Hop
Collaborative Video for Choreography
The Best of 20th and 21st Century Dance
Introduction to Modern Dance
Western Dance History 1 (some seats for non-majors)
Western Dance History 2 (some seats for non-majors)
Intermediate Ballet (only non-majors)
Brain on Art: Neuroaesthetics (open to all)
Music
Introduction to Studio Recording
Introduction to Jazz
Jazz in Context
Jazz Ensemble
Hand Drumming
Soul Voices (by audition)
Purchase Latin Jazz Ensemble
Private Study: For Students in Other Disciplines
Purchase Chorus (by audition)
Purchase Symphony Orchestra
Survey of Music History I (FA) and II (SP)
History of Recorded Music Blues to Bebop
History of Recorded Music Bebop to Hip Hop
Songwriting I
Theatre Arts
Acting
Creative Expression
Fundamentals of Acting
Theatre Design/Technology
Costume Design Seen Through Film
Nearly all courses within Theatre and Performance are open to non-major Purchase College students, including:
Introduction to Theatre and Performance Studies
Women in Performance
Concepts in Costuming
Revolutionary Laughter: Satire and Social Dialogue
