College of Arts and Media
College of Arts and Media
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Master the arts and nurture your creative flair with the College of Arts and Media’s degrees in theatre, dance, music, advertising design, digital design and digital film. Our collaborative and cross-disciplinary approach led by knowledgeable faculty makes Grand Canyon University the ideal place for you to study, rehearse and perform. At GCU, you can expect a collegiate experience enriched with opportunities to perform and learn alongside active industry professionals.
Earn a degree that allows you to express your creativity by exploring degrees with art and media courses like social media, digital design and film to music, dance and theatre. Our degrees combine studio practice, lecture courses and interactions with active industry professionals to help foster critical awareness and artistic exploration. With our skilled faculty and applied learning concepts, GCU can serve as the stage to explore your purpose.
GCU offers numerous advantages for aspiring professionals. Our program integrates hands-on experience with advanced media technology, storytelling techniques and industry-standard practices.
Discover the benefits of pursuing media arts studies at GCU:
HLC Accreditation
GCU has been institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1968 and is proud to prioritize quality education and comprehensive instruction. The College of Arts and Media shares the university’s commitment to upholding the principles and standards established by our accrediting bodies.
Choose Your Minor
Enhance your knowledge with courses in business, education and more. Arts and media majors can declare a minor to complement their degree. Explore your options to tailor your education and broaden your expertise.
College Mission
The College of Arts and Media promotes flourishing through creative collaboration, authentic storytelling and a missional spirit.
The College of Arts and Media at GCU incorporates leadership and an array of performance opportunities specific to your learning interests. Each discipline features rehearsal and production facilities, resources from local and national organizations and knowledgeable faculty to lead students throughout each performance and creative design project.
Numerous students in the college have received local and national awards and have continued pursuing their passion in graduate programs across the country. Learn more about your future discipline in the arts and media at GCU.
Students seeking entry into select bachelor’s-level arts and media majors, including music, music education, dance, dance education, theatre education and theatre and drama, must audition for full acceptance into the College of Arts and Media. If you wish to minor in dance, theatre or music, an audition is not required.
To request an audition, you must be accepted as a GCU student. For more information, visit gcu.edu/auditions or call 855-GCU-LOPE.
Based upon your chosen degree level and whether you will be an on-campus or online student, GCU’s tuition rates and fees varies.
Explore scholarships and resources that can assist with funding your college expenses and support your educational journey.
Find out more about the admission requirements and the simple application process for your desired program.
Find answers to frequently asked questions and get the information you need to make informed decisions about your studies and future career.
The disciplines within arts and media colleges typically differ in their focus and skills. Digital design emphasizes creating visual content and interfaces using artistic and technical skills. Digital film is centered on producing and editing video content with a focus on storytelling through film. Theatre involves live performance, including acting, directing and stage design, aimed at bringing stories to life on stage. Music explores various elements of music creation, performance and theory. Each area offers distinct opportunities for specialization and professional growth in the arts.
Choosing which art program to pursue depends on your interests. Digital arts involve creating visual content with digital tools. Digital media covers a range of digital content, including video and interactive media and fine arts focuses on traditional artistic practices like painting and sculpture. Each area can offer distinct opportunities aligned with different creative interests and career objectives.
Arts and media majors explore various aspects of creative expression and media production. These programs span fields, such as visual arts, digital media, performance and design. At GCU, you can choose from degrees like the BA in Dance or the theatre and drama program for those interested in fine arts. The BA with animation, screenwriting or social media focus may be a good fit for students keen on marketing creative campaigns. Additionally, for performance and production, you might pursue a bachelor’s with an emphasis on piano performance. Each program offers specialized training to help you prepare for careers in your respective fields.
In art and media courses, you will engage in a variety of activities depending on your focus. For instance, in digital arts classes, you might work on creating visual content using design software and digital tools. In digital media, you may learn about video production, multimedia storytelling and interactive media. Each course typically combines practical projects with theoretical studies to help you develop skills and knowledge relevant to your field.
Media arts studies can be valuable in college because they focus on developing both creative and technical skills. These programs offer education and practical experience with digital tools, multimedia production and artistic techniques, equipping you with professional capabilities to prepare a portfolio, network within the industry and develop advanced problem-solving skills for creative projects.
GCU’s One Foundation integrates our Christian worldview into the academic environment, for the purpose of honoring God, serving our neighbors and infusing purpose into preparation for artistic careers.
“In the beginning, God created…” is the starting point of the Bible and the starting point for our students as they embark on building a life centered on creativity. When Exodus 35 speaks of the value of artisans creating beauty to represent and to honor God, our students can learn to see their creative choices as valuable and important to God. He has called these students to GCU and our creative programs to develop their own authentic expressions of their craft in a faith-based missional environment based on the GCU Christian identity and mission. Our classes feature hands-on, practical problem-solving scenarios where ethical choices, behavior and worldviews are expressed via storytelling.
The Scriptures identify the components of God’s actions which we align to our student’s learning (Jeremiah 10:12). Power, wisdom and understanding are important keys to our curriculum.
By employing these concepts in a prayerful ask that God directs the project, students can plug into that creative power of our Lord.
Our faculty members use the Word of God as a foundation for why they are here and what they will accomplish in the world. They guide our students as role models with knowledge, skills and examples of service and professionalism through activities that are both written into the curriculum as well as offered from their own unique experiences. We demonstrate by doing. Students are directly mentored and learn alongside faculty that demonstrate their faith as working professionals on and off stage.
We believe that by empowering students with an understanding of how art, music, dance, design, film, storytelling, theater and technology are central to the expression of Gospel messages in the 21st century, they can graduate with a firm foundation on which to stand throughout their lives.
As GCU adapts this new language of human flourishing, our college is actively working to embed the concepts into our internal missions, written materials, courses and conversations. Our new mission: The College of Arts and Media promotes flourishing through creativity, authentic storytelling and a missional spirit – that is intentionally centered on flourishing.
GCU’s College of Arts and Media is positioned to promote human flourishing, defined by Aristotle as the ability to live a good life. Our students tell stories and reflect the human condition. Our students create beauty and enrichment for themselves and others. Our students make beauty from chaos and find solutions from disparate parts. In the conversation of left vs. right brain strengths, the imagination and creativity of the art and media students’ primary right brain thought patterns offer an innovative reflection within an often analytics-driven world.
Questions that begin with “What if?” and “What else?” are key components in our teaching, and our new mission lights a fire under all of our activities. We are reclaiming the sacred roots of the arts — music, theatre, dance, visual — which were largely started, grown and widely sponsored by the church to spread God’s word. We encourage our students to move from a passion for the arts to a Christ-centered professional calling.
Scripture serves as a core principle for students entering the creative workforce (Matthew 5:10-16). Our students arrive with big dreams and aspirations. We encourage them to lead from where they are — to be salt and light in every environment. Students who embrace this walk with confidence honed over their time in the GCU classroom. The opportunity to learn inside organizations managed through a Christian worldview allows them to understand what it means to let their light shine in the workforce.
Arts and media students contribute to the GCU mission by challenging students, faculty and staff that may not know about or understand the arts (in the broad term). They engage in creative collaborations where workplace interaction, communication, leadership and entrepreneurship is played out in functional environments. Our education encourages students to be responsible leaders and innovative thinkers.
Theatrical, dance and music performances engage students to:
The Thundering Heard Pep Band is a leader in positive expression, especially in the competitive world. Students may find great joy in being part of the powerful, musical expression of GCU. Students in the design, social media and film programs are telling stories of our world to our world. They serve the GCU community with beauty in the realm of commerce and community engagement through their skills.
For students pursuing degrees in arts and media, such as graphic design, dance, music, film or photography, a theology minor can offer a profound understanding of cultural and religious influences that shape artistic expression. The integration of theology can deepen an artist’s ability to explore and express themes of spirituality, morality and the human condition in their work. It can also provide a historical context that can be essential in the arts, enriching the depth and breadth of creative projects.
The student experience is given a single foundation of faith that enlightens the multiple and often confusing messages swirling in our culture. When students know that there is solid ground for what they believe, they are more likely to succeed.
Students take the Christian worldview course where they are challenged to better understand who they are in Christ, how those with other views may perceive Christ and gives them language and tools to live and communicate from that perspective.
Throughout our curriculum we reinforce those concepts as students seek deeper understandings of themselves and the communities in which they live and create. This is of particular importance for our storytelling students who greatly benefit from understanding populations other than their own. Empathetic understanding and action, the kind modeled by Jesus, pushes our students outside their comfortable boundaries and can set their life into a direction with a missional attitude for all. This time of change during the college years is highly valued within the College of Arts and Media, and we work intentionally to support this growth in our students with curricular and co-curricular activities.
Students are provided many opportunities to grow in their faith. For example, our dance program includes prayer before all performances, monthly Bible studies with the department, creating art inspired by students’ Christian faith and performing in the night of worship and dance.
Transform your passion into expertise with our art and media programs.
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