FAQs - GCU's College of Arts & Media

Why should a student choose GCU's Arts and Media programs? What makes the Arts and Media programs unique?

Collaborative Environment

Canyon Creative isa student-led design agency that works on projects all over the valley, under the direction of faculty. They help in designing things for programs in the college such as the posters for our upcoming dance and theater seasons.
Design students will help digital film students create posters for casting calls and for their films.
Students help photograph each other for headshots.
CAM and the College of Theology collaborate to house our pit orchestra in the recording studio.
Any GCU student, regardless of major, can participate in theater productions including cast and crew.

Student Based

While most things are still overseen by faculty CAM is a very student-based college.
Sets, costumes, lighting, etc. are all built and designed by students. This allows students to get hands-on experience working in theater even if the do not get a art in a production.
The costume shop, mostly run by students, creates hundreds of original costumes every year for theater, dance, and film students.
The graphics and murals throughout the CAM building were designed by students, and won an Advertising award for their work.

No Graduate Programs

The CAM programs do not have any graduate programs attached to them. This makes it so that students are not competing with others that have already completed their programs.
This allows students a greater chance of getting opportunities that interest them.

What kind of facilities does the College of Arts and Media offer?

Dance

The primary dance facilities are located in Saguaro Hall. There are two dance studios with state-of-the-art, marley-covered, sprung dance floors that accommodate classes of 20+ dancers.The Ethington Dance Concert Series perform in GCU’s Ethington Theatre.

Design

The Design lounge is available to all CAM students as a place to work and study. Printers, guillotine cutters and cutting mats are all available to these students as well as comfortable seating to relax and converse.
A new space is currently being created for Social Media majors to create shoot sand sets.
The Photography studio provides a space for students to use soft box lighting and background for shoots and headshots.

Film

The cage is available to all film students and holds a wide variety of film equipment including cameras, gimbal, tripods and more.

Music

The band room is located in the Canyon Activity Center. The Pep Band, ChamberEnsembles, and Choir rehearse there. There are also rehearsal rooms here.
Music rehearsal spaces in the CAM building are available to students that wish to practice and receive extra help in private lessons. The Recital Hall in the CAM building is where master classes and juries take place.
TheEditing lab in Saguaro Hall is equipped with the latest non-linear editing software in the industry.
There are whisper/soundproof rooms on the top floor of the Technology building that are available to students who reserve and pay for them.

Theater

A woodworking and welding shop backstage at Ethington Theater where students are able to learn and practice those skills.
The costume shop where students will learn how to create costumes and how to sew.
TheBlackbox Theater is a space often used for acting classes and improv performances.

Is the Social Media Degree focusing on becoming an influencer?

While any student will have the skillset to be an influencer, most students in this major will go on to work for non-profits, brands, or organizations. Career opportunities range from strategy or content creation to account optimization or community management. It would be challenging to find any brand, sporting team, or church that doesn’t have someone running their social media.

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Is tutoring offered?

Our professors have 15 office hours a week and we have a variety of clubs where students help each other, including our ACE Center.

Why are some degrees not offered online?

While there are online options for the Design and Digital Film programs, the collaborative nature of music, theatre, and dance make the degree very unique and not ideal for online learning.

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What is the difference between a performance and education degree?

Performance majors are designed so that students gain the skills and ability to perform professionally.

The students will also learn the background information involved in these performances such as how to put on a production.

Education majors give students the skills and abilities to teach in secondary education.

They will also spend their last semester student teaching.

When will I be able to start classes specific to my program?

You can start program specific classes your first year! There are no programs that require a student to be a certain year or skill level in order to perform and have access to equipment such as software, cameras, etc..

Students are also able and encouraged to participate in any clubs or internships that will give them hands-on experience.

What is a secondary application and does the College of Arts and Media have one?

For several schools with highly competitive requirements, to be accepted into their programs, they require a secondary application. In many instances, these additional requirements will require students to take lower-level classes for one or two years before applying for professional admissions into an actual program. And even then, there is no guarantee of getting in. Also, many impacted schools may choose to utilize a secondary application process to control enrollment counts. At GCU, we have NO secondary application process!

What performance opportunities are offered?

Students have a variety of performance opportunities on campus since there are no graduate performance students studying in our programs. It is not uncommon for qualifying freshman to get cast as a lead in a play or receive an instrumental or vocal solo in a concert.

Dance

In addition to Winter and Spring Faculty Dance Concerts, there are Student Spotlight Dance Concerts are held in October and March, providing students many more opportunities to choreography and perform dances.
Student choreography is submitted through an adjudication process by faculty and invited members of the dance community. Special projects and performance opportunities also arise through faculty and the SDO (Student Dance Organization).

Music

Students have opportunities to perform both on- and off-campus in a variety of ensembles—bands, choirs, solo recitals. Students are placed into ensembles based on their audition and major. If a student plays other instruments, he/she may audition for additional ensembles.
Students in the Music Performance program are required to hold a Junior and Senior recital.

Theater

Students can participate in the Ethington Theatre Series as an actor or on the technical side (stage manager, stage crew, costume design and more), participation is open to all majors and experience levels. Unlike most university productions freshman (as well as non-majors) have frequently been cast in main stage productions and often in lead roles.
CAM typically produces four main-stage productions a year (2plays and 2 musicals). There will also be one show in our Blackbox Theatre a year.
Students can participate in Cantalopes – GCU’s improv team. The Cantalopes perform comedy improv shows that any are free to attend as well as an Improv study hall for any student (including non-theatre students) to learn improv technique.
The Parables is a traveling comedy troupe that delivers faith-based content to localChristian High Schools, which requires special selection by the director.
Reach out to the theatre program director for more details. Students can apply to Parables after their first year at GCU.
Other opportunities to perform include One-Acts, and Second Series. Many students also start in GCU Film Student productions.

What happens if I do not pass my audition?

If you do not pass your audition, you must select another major. However, you can still minor in your program or choice and reaudition the next semester.

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What scholarship opportunities does the College of Arts and Media offer?

CAM specific scholarship opportunities are only offered through the Dance, Theater, and Music programs. Performance scholarships are only available for majors, are determined by audition, and awarded on a case-by-case and first-come, first-served basis. Performance scholarships are limited, so it is important to create urgency with your students to audition early in their admissions process. CAM performance scholarships are subject to CAP. CAM does not award performance scholarships to non-majors or minors due to the limited availability of these funds and the competitive nature of this award. If a student chooses to switch their major, they lose their performance scholarship eligibility. Students who are accepted into the Thundering Herd Pep Band will receive an annual scholarship (This does not include the Critical Mass performance scholarship, which is determined by a separate process).

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What kind of laptop do I need?

Refer to the University Policy Handbook. Some programs may have access to required materials through the school, such as how Digital Film majors have the ability to rent camera tripods, etc..

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What are the acceptance requirements for students?

Requirements vary based on the desired major. The Design and Digital Film programs do not require anything such as a portfolio for acceptance into the program. The Dance, Theater, and Music programs all require auditions. The Music program also requires both an audition and a minimum score of 70 on the Music Theory Assessment.

There is no CAP for the audition process. The college accepts students based on their ability to succeed as a professional in their field after four years of training in the program.
Students that wish to minor in the programs are not required to audition or take the Music Theory Assessment.
Auditions can be submitted digitally or in-person. During GCU’s summer months, in-person auditions are no longer an option.
Please see audition requirements for further information: Auditions | Grand Canyon University(gcu.edu)

What programs does GCU's College of Arts and Media offer?

B.A. in Advertising and Graphic Design
B.A. in Digital Design with an Emphasis in Animation
B.A. in Digital Design with an Emphasis in Web Design
B.A. in Social Media
B.A. in Digital Film with an Emphasis in Production
B.A. in Digital Film with an Emphasis in Screenwriting
B.A. in Dance
B.A. in Dance for Secondary Education
B.A. in Music Performance: Choir Vocal
B.A. in Music Performance: Instrumental
B.A. in Music Performance: Piano
B.A. in Music Education: Choir Vocal
B.A. in Music Education: Instrumental
B.A. in Theater and Drama
B.A. in Theater for Secondary Education

Where is the CAM building on campus?

The CAM building is building 35. View an interactive map of GCU campus here.

What dining options are available on-campus?

View all on-campus dining options available at GCU here.

Is there a shuttle around campus or to 27th Avenue?

Yes! GCU provides a free shuttle around campus and to the buildings on 27th Avenue. View the shuttle stop map here.

Can I purchase the Adobe Creative Cloud software from GCU?

Yes! The GCU Lopes Shop is selling discounted licenses for the Adobe Creative Cloud.

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Is there a lost and found?

If you lost an item usually faculty and staff will report it to sheila.schumacher@gcu.edu or candace.stewart@gcu.edu.

Is there a study room?

Yes, you can reserve a study room in the library or come to Studio 160 (35-160) in the Fine Arts building.

Can I check out the books from the study room?

Yes, we have books located in building 35 Fine Arts located in Studio160 (room 35-160) and outside professor Schumacher’s office. Use our checkout system which can be found on our Student Resources website.

Where can I find a map to locate classrooms?

A map of classrooms in building 35 can be located on the contact page.

Where is the Academic Calendar located?

The Academic Calendar is located on the gcu.edu website.

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