(f) Visual and Performing Arts

Additional information on honors policy for Visual and Performing Arts Honors Course

One unit (one year-long course) required in any of the following categories: dance, drama/theater, music, or visual art.

• Intention. The intention is to provide a meaningful experience and breadth of knowledge of the arts so that students may apply their knowledge and experience to the creation of art and are better able to understand and appreciate artistic expression on the basis of that experience and knowledge.

  The intent of approved VPA courses must be directed at acquiring concepts, knowledge, and skills in the arts disciplines, rather than to utilize artistic activities to fulfill non-artistic course objectives.

• Pre-requisites. Acceptable courses need NOT have any prerequisite courses.
• Co-Curricular Work. Work outside of class must be required, for example, portfolio/performance preparation, reading, writing, research projects, and/or critical listening/viewing.
• Course Repeats. All approved performance, production or studio classes, introductory and advanced, may be taken more than one time and all grades earned in 10th and 11th grade will be included in the coursework considered for eligibility and admissions purposes. Repeated classes of this type are not subject to restrictions placed on a course that is being repeated due to a subject deficiency.
• Course Standards. Courses should provide students with an experience in the arts that implements the intent of the California State Board of Education approved Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Content Standards. Curriculum must be designed to include the VPA Content Standards at the proficiency level in each of the five component strands. Each VPA course shall sufficiently address the state content standards under all five component strands, listed below.
  1. Artistic Perception: Processing, analyzing, and responding to sensory information through the language and skills unique to a given art.
  2. Creative Expression: Creating, performing, and participating in a given art.
  3. Historical and Cultural Context: Understanding historical contributions and cultural dimensions of a given art.
  4. Aesthetic Valuing: Responding to, analyzing, and making critical assessments about works of a given art form.
  5. Connections, Relationships, and Applications: Connecting and applying what is learned in a given art form to learning in other art forms, subject areas, and careers.

  More detailed description of the VPA Standards.

• Acceptable and Unacceptable Courses. Courses which are primarily recreational, athletic or body conditioning, or for social entertainment, are NOT acceptable visual or performing arts courses. Commercial courses or courses specifically designed for training for a profession in these areas are not acceptable. See specific examples below.
  1. Dance. Examples of acceptable courses include ballet, modern dance, jazz, and ethnic dance, choreography and improvisation, dance history, dance production/performance. Examples of unacceptable courses include aerobics, drill team, cheerleading, recreational dance, and ballroom dance.
  2. Drama/Theater. Examples of acceptable courses include acting, directing, oral interpretation, dramatic production, dramaturgy/history/theory, and stage/lighting/costume design. Examples of unacceptable courses include speech, debate, or courses in other disciplines that require students to perform occasional skits.
  3. Music. Examples of acceptable courses include band (concert, symphonic, jazz), orchestra, choir (e.g., concert, jazz, soul, madrigal), music history/appreciation, and music theory/composition. Examples of unacceptable courses include a musical group, which performs primarily for sporting events, parades, competitive field events, and/or community/civic activities.
  4. Visual Art. Examples of acceptable courses include painting, drawing, sculpture, art photography, printmaking, video/film production as an art form, contemporary media, ceramics, and art history. Examples of unacceptable courses include craft courses, mechanical drafting, web page development, yearbook, and photography offered as photojournalism (i.e., as a component of yearbook or school newspaper publication).

  For further clarifications of the four categories, see Policy Clarifications below.

• Policy Clarifications
  1. Performance, Production, and Studio Courses. Courses emphasizing performance and/or production (e.g., drama, dance, music, visual arts, and video production) must include appropriate critical/theoretical and historical/cultural content, as referenced in the state VPA content standards. Such courses should emphasize creative expression, not rote memorization and/or technical skills.
  2. Appreciation, History, and Theory Courses. Appreciation, history, and theory courses should focus on the ability to make aesthetic judgments about art works and performances and must include all component strands of the state VPA content standards, including creative expression.
  3. Design Courses. Visual and performing arts courses in design are expected to provide substantial time for students to understand, learn, and experience the elements of art and principles of design that underlie the medium/media addressed. Design courses must also include standards from all five component strands of the VPA content standards. Refer to the Design Course Resources.
  4. Technology Courses. Visual and performing arts courses that utilize technology must focus primarily on arts content. If the technology (i.e., software, equipment) is used as a tool of artistic expression, as a paintbrush would be used in a painting course, and all other component strands are adequately met, then such courses are acceptable. If the technology/software is so complex that the primary concern becomes learning the technology, then the course will not be approved to meet the VPA requirement.
• Community College and University Transferable Courses. The University of California will accept three semester unit (four quarter unit) UC-transferable college/university courses that clearly fall within one of the four disciplines of the arts (Dance, Music, Theatre, or Visual Arts). UC-transferable community college courses are listed at www.assist.org.
• Honors Courses. Designated Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses are acceptable for UC honors credit. Three semester unit (four quarter unit) UC-transferable community college and university courses that clearly fall within one of the four disciplines of the arts are likewise acceptable for honors credit. A list of community college and CSU-transferable courses can be found at www.assist.org. Other honors courses are acceptable if they meet the criteria described in the "Honors Level Courses" section of these Guidelines.
• Private Study. Private or community-based study in the arts will not qualify for approval to meet the VPA requirement. However, at the discretion of the teacher and consistent with school policy, private study in the arts, which includes standards-based comprehensive study in all five component strands, may serve as an adequate prerequisite for placement into advanced and/or honors level VPA courses. (See VPA honors section for further criteria guidelines.)
• Independent Study. Following school district approved guidelines, school-sponsored independent study in the arts may fulfill UC/CSU entrance requirements, if it is appropriately monitored by a faculty member, matches a concurrent UC/CSU approved high school course, and meets the "f" requirement guidelines as set forth in this document.
• "g" Elective Courses. Introductory semester VPA courses cannot be used to meet the "g" elective requirement. Advanced semester courses in the Visual & Performing Arts can be considered to meet the "g" requirement, but must also meet the criteria described in the "College Preparatory Elective Courses" section of this Guide to "a-g" Requirements.
• Implementation Phase-in Timeline. The VPA requirement was implemented beginning 2003.
  1. Students entering after the fall of 2006 or later must satisfy the VPA requirement by completing an appropriate single course in a year-long sequence (i.e., the second semester must be the continuation of the first semester). If scheduling challenges demand, students may divide the year-long course in two different academic years, as long as the course curriculum is designed as a year-long sequence and approved as such by the University.

VPA Courses. In coordination with the full implementation of the VPA policy UC articulation staff has moved and/or removed all semester VPA courses from the "f" VPA area, as they no longer satisfy the requirement. Advanced semester VPA courses were moved to the "g" elective area and introductory semester VPA courses were removed from "a-g" course lists altogether.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Our school submitted several VPA courses. Why were some approved and others not?

A: usually, the reasons for denial are due to the fact that the course description does not deliberately address all five component strands of the state VPA standards reported in the guidelines. To review the VPA standards, go to this CDE URL: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/index.asp.

Q: To meet the year-long VPA course requirement, is it acceptable for a student to take the first semester of a year-long course one year and the second semester another year?

A: Yes. Students must be exposed to one year of VPA course content in the same arts discipline (i.e., drama, dance, music, visual arts) regardless of which year the first and second semesters are taken, but the semesters must be taken in sequence.

Q: What happened to semester-long VPA courses in 2006 when UC required year-long courses?

A: In coordination with the full implementation of the VPA policy, UC articulation staff has moved and/or removed all semester VPA courses from the "f" VPA area, as they no longer satisfy the requirement.  Advanced semester VPA courses were moved to the "g" elective area, and introductory semester VPA courses were removed from "a-g" course lists altogether.

Q: Can students take Visual & Performing Arts courses offered at the community college or another university in order to meet the new VPA requirement?

A: Yes. According to a July 2002 policy clarification, students can take any UC-transferable 3-semester unit (or 4-quarter unit) community college or university level VPA course to meet the VPA eligibility requirement, as long as it clearly falls within one of the four disciplines of VPA (music, dance, theater, visual arts). Students, counselors, and others can go to http://www.assist.org to find out which courses are transferable.

Q: Can speech, debate, journalism, and creative writing courses be used to meet the VPA requirement?

A: As a general rule, no. These courses are often acceptable as English elective courses in the "g" area, but generally do not adequately address the five strands of the state VPA framework.

Q: Can community-based, private study in the arts meet the VPA requirement?

A: No. However, at the discretion of the teacher and school/district policy, private study of the arts may be used as an appropriate prerequisite for placement in advanced or honors courses in the arts.

Q: Can VPA courses be granted honors status?

A: Yes, an honors policy for VPA was approved by the BOARS committee in July 2002. The policy defines the criteria for certain, advanced level VPA courses to be accepted for UC honors status. Acceptable honors courses include AP, IB, and college courses, as well as other honors courses that meet both the general and discipline-specific criteria.

Q: Why is it so difficult to get UC approval for visual arts courses that focus on design?

A: UC faculty expects that the intent of approved VPA courses must be directed at acquiring concepts, knowledge and skills in the arts disciplines, rather than to utilizing artistic activities to fulfill non-artistic course objectives. Often, design type courses (architectural, graphic, floral, interior, fashion, et cetera), including photography, video production and animation courses focus more on the technical aspects of these disciplines, rather than the "art." To be acceptable, such courses must focus significantly on the fundamental elements of art and principles of design, adequately cover the historical/cultural context, allow ample opportunity for students to critique art (self, peer, or professional-produced), and make connections to other art forms, subject areas, and/or career opportunities. To support schools in developing design area courses, UC and The California Arts Project (TCAP) have developed Design Course Resources that can be accessed on this site.