Grounded in creativity, play, and imagination, the B.S. in Expressive Arts Therapy blends the fields of psychology, integrated arts approaches in visual literary and performing arts, liberal studies, and expressive therapies, to promote health and positive change across the lifespan. The four-year degree prepares students for graduate school studies in Expressive Therapies, or undergraduate entry-level professional work within related areas of the helping professions. The core curriculum builds from foundations of expressive therapies to methods and materials, assessment and intervention, theory and practice, internship, and finally senior research and thesis, where students compose a five-chapter written thesis and arts-based performance or exhibition grounded in arts-based research. Elective courses in drama therapy, therapeutic writing, music therapy, and dance/ movement therapy foundations offer students deeper knowledge of specific expressive arts modalities. Graduating students develop a strong foundation in the arts, a grounding in creative improvisation, the development of artistic identity, a deepening of self-awareness, and knowledge of intersectionality within the helping professions.
