Undergraduate students can now incorporate the arts into their education through three new minors: music, dance and theatre. The College of Fine Arts introduced the minors at the beginning of the 2026-2027 academic year, and the programs are open to all students.
The College of Fine Arts opened applications in August of this year for the new minors and continues to accept applications on a rolling basis. Each minor requires 15 semester hours of coursework in their respective department.
“We want to serve the larger population of UT students,” John Turci-Escobar, associate dean of undergraduate studies for the College of Fine Arts, said. “Logistically, it was difficult, but we have two (new) chairs that were really instrumental in leadership in this area.”
Peter Carpenter, chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, said he was surprised by the lack of arts minors for nonmajors when he started at UT in 2023. After getting feedback and checking on the feasibility, Carpenter received support from the faculty and college administration to pilot the addition of the new minors with Susan Thomas, director of the Butler School of Music.
“I think there’s something really wonderful that happens in the Department of Theatre Dance in terms of community, in terms of experiential learning, in terms of putting thought into action,” Carpenter said. “I think it’s important that lots of different students and lots of different majors have the chance to experience this.”
Kartik Mididoddi, a sophomore biology and health and society major, discovered the music minor by chance while browsing the music department’s website this semester and is excited to take the classes offered under the Butler School of Music.
“I’m actually pre-med, but I’ve always had so much interest in music,” Mididoddi said. “I feel like it’s healthy to take classes outside of the sciences.”
Mididoddi said that before discovering the minor, he already planned to take music classes, but getting credit as a minor is an added bonus. All three minors also offer classes that approach music, dance or theater from a cultural or historical perspective.
“I’ve only ever had experience playing music or listening to music,” Mididoddi said. “But learning about music from a history standpoint or from a sociology standpoint is super interesting.”
Carpenter said that, along with letting students explore their interest in the arts, students can gain transferable skills through the arts. He said the arts can also bring a human-to-human connection that cannot be replicated through technology and artificial intelligence.
“I think so many people feel like they have to give up the arts when they come to college,” Carpenter said. “Hopefully, this is a way (to show) that’s not true.”
