Major Preparation in the School of the Arts and Architecture

The departments within the School of the Arts and Architecture offer the following majors:

• Architectural Studies
• Art
• Computational Art
• Dance
• Design
• Games
• World Arts and Cultures

The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture offers interdisciplinary programs in art, architecture, design, media, and performance, emphasizing creativity and critical thinking. It provides students with numerous opportunities for collaboration, research, and public engagement, fostering leadership in the creative industries. Applicants are considered on the basis of academic achievement as well as supplemental materials specific to each major. 

California Community College students are strongly encouraged to complete IGETC/Cal-GETC; all other transfer students are encouraged to make progress toward completion of the school’s general education requirements. The School of Art and Architecture will consider sophomore transfer applicants.

Applicants to the school must have a minimum 3.0 GPA at the time of application. In addition to the UC Application, applicants are required to submit supplemental application material (e.g., portfolio or audition, artist statements, and other materials as requested; additional fees may apply). Applicants should begin working on the department’s supplemental application shortly after submitting the UC Application, as deadlines are strictly enforced.

Specific guidelines, requirements, deadlines and procedures may be obtained from the school’s website. Please see individual major sections below for more information. 

• Minimum GPA: 3.0 at the time of application
• For all candidates: Two transferable English courses and one transferable math course MUST be completed by the end of Spring prior to transfer.
• IGETC/Cal-GETC required: No, but strongly encouraged
• Double-major possible: Yes, it’s possible to double major with a major in the College, but it can be difficult due to the high number of course requirements in most UCLA arts majors. Double major requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.
• Supplemental application required: Yes, varies by major (e.g., portfolio or audition, artist statements, and other materials as requested; additional fees may apply).  
• Supplemental application deadlines:
  • Architectural Studies: January 20, 2027
  • Art: January 20, 2027
  • Dance: December 15, 2026
  • Games: December 15, 2026
  • World Arts and Cultures: December 15, 2026

The School of the Arts and Architecture offers the following majors for sophomore transfers. Please see admission criteria for sophomore transfers for more information.

Architectural Studies

The focus of the architectural studies major is on the built environment. The curriculum conceives of architecture as a cultural, creative, and technical practice and a discipline with direct social impact. Within the context of a liberal arts education, a finely balanced set of architecture and urban design courses ranging from the history and theory of design to contemporary building technologies will provide students with a diverse foundation of knowledge in the field of architecture and prepare them for graduate school and/or careers in a wide range of fields.

Preparation for the Major

Admission to the architectural studies major is very competitive. The most important admission criteria is the supplemental application which requires a portfolio of creative work.

While it may be beneficial to complete the courses listed below as recommended preparation, there’s no guarantee they will transfer as exact UCLA equivalents. Substitutions for lower-division requirements will be determined by the department in the summer following admission. Syllabi or other descriptive course documentation may be required for consideration.

Recommended (not required) preparation for the major*:

• Two courses in the history of architecture (Pre-history to Mannerism and 1600 to present)
• One introduction to architectural studies course

* It is common for transfers to complete these courses at UCLA

Portfolio and Supplemental Requirements

In addition to the general UC Application, applicants must submit a supplemental application that includes a portfolio of creative work. Additional fees may apply. Applicants must have a cumulative 3.0 GPA at the time of application. Students must complete the requisite two English courses and one math course by the end of spring prior to transfer. Students are encouraged to take their required English and math courses as early as possible with at least one English course completed by the end of fall.

More information

• UCLA  Architecture and Urban Design
• Architectural Studies major description

Art

The Department of Art is committed to professional art training within the context of a research university. The department provides students with a broad exposure to the arts and encourages new fields of investigation. Students work in more than one medium and explore mixed media possibilities as well in areas of painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, ceramics, printmaking, new genres, and theory. The program's intent is to provide the framework, both through coursework and independent study, to assist each student in the development of their own body of work.

Preparation for the Major

Admission to the art major is very competitive. The most important admission criteria is the supplemental application which requires a portfolio of creative work. 

While it may be beneficial to complete the courses listed below as preparation/experience, they aren’t required for admission and there’s no guarantee they will satisfy major requirements and/or transfer as exact equivalents of any UCLA courses. Substitutions for lower-division requirements will be determined by the department in the summer following admission. Syllabi or other descriptive course documentation may be required for consideration.

Recommended (not required) preparation for the major:

One in each of the following:

• Drawing
• Sculpture
• Painting
• Photography
• Ceramics
• New genres [performance art, video art, installation, and non-studio work]

Four courses (total) in art history. Three of the four should cover the following art historical periods (one each): 

• 1850s–1920s
• 1920s–1960s
• 1960s–present

At least one of the four should include significant representation of non-European/North American art historical traditions.

* It is common for transfers to complete these courses at UCLA

Portfolio and Supplemental Requirements

In addition to the general UC Application, applicants must submit a portfolio of creative work. Additional fees may apply. Applicants must have a cumulative 3.0 GPA at the time of application. Students must complete the requisite two English courses and one math course by the end of spring prior to transfer. Students are encouraged to take their required English and math courses as early as possible with at least one English course completed by the end of fall.

More Information

• Department of Art
• Art major description

Computational Art

Computational Art is for students who want to make creative work with code, systems, data, interaction, and emerging technologies. Students work across art, design, and media, but the center of the major is computation: not just as a tool, but as a creative material, a way of thinking, and a subject for artistic exploration.

Computational Art is not half computer science and half art. It is neither an art degree with a technical add-on nor a technical degree with a creative component. Artists, designers, engineers, and creative technologists have been developing this field for more than sixty years. It is a distinct creative field where code, images, systems, interaction, sound, data, networks, and emerging technologies become materials for artistic work.

Students drawn to this major may be asking whether to pursue art or engineering, computer science or design, technical work or creative work. In Computational Art, these paths come together. Students combine creative imagination with technical skill, developing projects that could not exist through either art or computation alone. They also ask larger questions about technology: Who creates it? Who uses it? Who is affected by it? How do computational systems shape culture, creativity, and everyday life?

Students come to Computational Art with different strengths. Some arrive with experience in visual art, design, music, video, or performance. Others have explored coding, electronics, AI tools, interactive media, digital worlds, or experimental technologies. The program builds shared foundations while helping students develop a focused creative practice with computation.

Preparation for the Major

The most important admission criteria are the supplemental application which involves additional essays, a design portfolio, strong academic performance, and evidence of community engagement relative to interest in the major.
Please refer to the FAQ for transfer students which outlines learning outcomes for their lower division classes and possible equivalents from community college: Look broadly across your available course curriculum, in any and all areas having to do with art, architecture, design, computer science, information systems, multimedia, interactivity, communications, journalism, et al, to identify possible matches for coursework.

Recommended (not required) preparation for the major:

• One course in computing, programming, information systems, or digital media that includes examination of the social, cultural, historical, or ethical dimensions of technology
• One course in media history or digital culture
• One course in drawing and digital image making
• One course in 3D modeling
• One course in programming for media arts, creative coding, or interactivity
• One course in motion-based or digital media
• One course in three-dimensional form and fabrication, or typography

Supplemental requirements

In addition to the general UC Application, applicants must submit a supplement that consists of a visual arts portfolio and additional writing statements. Additional fees may apply. All students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA at the time of application. Students must complete the requisite two English courses and one Math course by the end of spring prior to transfer. Students are encouraged to take their required English and Math courses as early as possible with at least one English course completed by the end of fall.

More Information

• Department of Computational Art

Dance

The Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance is at the forefront of innovative, interdisciplinary, and cross-cultural studies of the arts, offering a curriculum in which students can explore the vital relationship of the arts and performance to cultural theory and criticism. The dance major thoroughly integrates learning to dance, learning to make dances, and critical interrogation of dance as a cultural practice. Students study a variety of techniques from around the world throughout their studies. They enroll in a four-term sequence in dance composition, with additional opportunities to participate in the creation of their own dances, as well as working as dancers in the creation of new works by faculty members and visiting artists. Furthermore, they engage in a core of four courses in the study of scholarly discourse around the body and dance, launching a critical inquiry into their own study of bodily practices, internalization of the embodied experience, and how bodily ideas and embodied experiences are interpreted and communicated outwardly and interpersonally, both locally and globally.

Preparation for the Major

Admission to the dance major is highly competitive. The most important admission criteria is the supplemental application which includes an audition. While it may be beneficial to complete the courses listed below as preparation/experience, they aren’t required for admission and there’s no guarantee they will satisfy major requirements and/or transfer as exact equivalents of any UCLA courses. Substitutions for lower-division requirements will be determined by the department in the summer following admission. Syllabi or other descriptive course documentation may be required for consideration.

Recommended (not required) preparation for the major:

One course each in:

• Improvisation/choreography
• Dance history and theory

At least eight courses (approximately 12 semester/20 quarter units) in various dance techniques, particularly:

• Modern/postmodern dance
• Hip-hop
• West African
• Ballet
• and coursework focusing on using dance as a medium to connect and engage community

* Most transfer students complete these courses at UCLA

Audition, Interview and Supplemental Requirements

In addition to the general UC Application, applicants must submit a supplemental application (additional fees may apply). Dance applicants must audition, in addition to showing strong academic preparation and evidence of involvement in the arts and community that demonstrates interest in varied cultures.

All students must have a cumulative 3.0 GPA at the time of the application. Students must complete the requisite two English courses and one math course by the end of spring prior to transfer. Students are encouraged to take their required English and math courses as early as possible with at least one English course completed by the end of fall.

More Information

• Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance
• Dance major description

World Arts and Cultures

The B.A. in world arts and cultures (WAC) enables students to critically examine and constructively engage the social and cultural contexts that shape artists and their creativity. Our interdisciplinary curriculum accentuates those local histories and global influences that inform ethnographic, curatorial, creative and scholarly praxis, as well as activist politics and questions of social justice.

The major encourages students to understand the making and reception of arts and social movements through a critical lens that is rooted in a range of cultural and post-colonial theories. As such, education in this major is built on the dialogue between theory and practice, between creative work and critical analysis. Our faculty have specialties ranging from documentary filmmaking and theory, health and healing, community engagement, ethnography, critical curatorial studies, research methodologies, critical race studies, art direction, digital culture and surveillance studies, Indigenous studies, prison abolition, spoken word, feminist theory and more.

Preparation for the Major

All preparatory coursework should be completed at UCLA. Your individual interests related to the WAC major can be shown through your IGETC coursework selection. Substitutions for lower-division requirements will be determined by the department in the summer following admission. Syllabi or other descriptive course documentation may be required for consideration.

Supplemental Requirements

In addition to the general UC Application, applicants must submit a supplemental application (additional fees may apply). Successful applicants must have strong academic preparation and show evidence of involvement in the arts and community that demonstrates interest in varied cultures. All students must have a cumulative 3.0 GPA at the time of the application. Students must complete the requisite two English courses and one math course by the end of Spring prior to transfer. Students are encouraged to take their required English and math courses as early as possible with at least one English course completed by the end of fall.

More Information

• Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance
• World Arts and Cultures major description