An arts conservatory of international renown, the North Carolina School of the Arts was the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, the School of the Arts opened in 1965 after nearly a million dollars was raised to win the new school for Winston-Salem. In 1972, the School became part of the prestigious University of North Carolina system.

The School’s mission is unique: to train students from middle school through graduate school for professional careers in the performing, visual, and film and television arts. Performance is an integral part of the training program, and students, faculty and guest artists present more than 400 public performances and screenings annually in the School’s facilities in Winston-Salem, as well as across the state and the Southeast, in major U.S. cities and overseas.

Five professional schools make up the North Carolina School of the Arts: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. With its full academic program, the School is accredited to award the high school diploma, the College Arts Diploma, the Professional Artist Certificate, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Students must audition or interview for admission to NCSA. Of the more than 1,000 students enrolled, half come from two-thirds of North Carolina’s 100 counties. Half come from 45 other states (from New York to California) and nearly two dozen foreign countries (from Germany to Japan).

Students study with resident master teachers who have had successful careers in the arts – from New York City Ballet to the Los Angeles Philharmonic – and who remain active in their professions. Noted guest artists such as filmmaker Spike Lee and actor Mandy Patinkin frequently bring lessons directly from the contemporary arts world.

School of the Arts alumni have performed in or behind the scenes of Broadway shows, film, television and regional theatre, and are members of the world’s finest symphony orchestras and opera and dance companies. They have won or been nominated for all of the major awards in the entertainment industry, including Tony, Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and others. Among the best-known are Gillian Murphy, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre; Tony Fanning, art director for theatre and film (WAR OF THE WORLDS); Mary-Louise Parker, Tony Award-winning actress (“Proof”); David Gordon Green, filmmaker who made the critically acclaimed GEORGE WASHINGTON and ALL THE REAL GIRLS; and Lisa Kim, violinist with the New York Philharmonic.

Mission statement

The North Carolina School of the Arts is the University of North Carolina’s conservatory for the arts, dedicated entirely to the professional training of students possessing exceptional talents in the performing, visual and moving image arts. Students enter NCSA when they are ready for focused, intense professional development at the baccalaureate level and in select programs at the master’s and high school levels in its schools of Dance, Design and Production, Drama, Filmmaking, and Music.

Committed to the idea that art combines craft, imagination, passion and intellect, the faculty work with students in a residential setting to create an educational community that is intimate, demanding and performance-centered. Learning is enriched by access to an academic program responsive to a conservatory curriculum; research and creative opportunities in the arts; student life programs and support; dedicated staff; outstanding facilities; community service activities; guest artists and teachers; and distinguished alumni. Students emerge transformed, poised to become leaders and creators in their chosen fields.

Founded by an act of the North Carolina General Assembly to be both an educational institution and a resource enhancing the cultural life of the State of North Carolina and the region, NCSA offers numerous public performances, both on- and off-campus, community education in the arts, as well as faculty and student lectures and workshops. The School collaborates with educational, cultural, civic, business and other partners to promote the universal importance and innovative impact of the arts to our society.

Professional schools

There are five professional schools of the North Carolina School of the Arts:

• School of Dance
• School of Design and Production
• School of Drama
• School of Filmmaking
• School of Music

Summer Session

NCSA offers five week summer courses in dance, filmmaking, visual arts, and drama, as well as two week courses in voice and guitar, and a three week course in stage combat, to middle school, high school, and college students seeking intensive study in the arts. All summer programs are highly reputable, and a great introduction to an art form for some, and an opportunity to delve into a discipline for others.

Notable alumni

• Diedrich Bader actor
• Carlo Curley organist
• Peter Hedges writer and director
• David Gordon Green writer and director
• Thomas J. Kalish, Esq. New York attorney
• David LaChapelle photographer and music video director
• Joe Mantello theatre director
• Gillian Murphy dancer, American Ballet Theater
• Mary Louise Parker actress
• Chris Parnell actor/comedian
• Jada Pinkett-Smith actress, attended but did not graduate
• Missi Pyle actress

Diedrich Bader (born December 24, 1966) is an American actor. ... Carlo Curley (b. ... Movie poster of Pieces of April Peter Hedges (born July 6, 1962) is an American writer and film director. ... David Gordon Green (born 1975 in Little Rock, Arkansas) is an American filmmaker. ... David LaChapelle is a photographer and director who has worked in the fields of fashion, advertising, and fine art photography. ... Joe Mantello (born 27 December 1962) in Rockford, Illinois is a Tony Award-winning American actor and director. ... Mary-Louise Parker. ... Thomas Christopher Chris Parnell (born February 5, 1967 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an actor and comedian. ... Jada Pinkett Smith at the 76th Annual Academy Awards Jada Pinkett Smith (born Jada Koren Pinkett on September 18, 1971 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an African-American actress, known for her petite size and high-energy charm. ... Missi Pyle (born Andrea Kay Pyle on November 16, 1972 in Houston Texas) is an American actress. ...

Facts

Founded: In 1963 and opened in 1965, established by the N.C. General Assembly

Mission: To train students for professional careers in the arts

Status: Public, coeducational, one of the 16 campuses of the University of North Carolina

Campus: 67 acres in Winston-Salem, N.C., near Old Salem, a national tourist attraction

Accreditation: By the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar: Three terms (fall, winter and spring, August/September to May/June)

Schools: Five – Dance, Design and Production (includes Visual Arts), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music – plus High School and Undergraduate Academic Programs

Enrollment (fall 2004): 1,057 includes 266 high school/middle school, 684 undergraduate, 96 graduate, 11 special.

Student Profile (fall 2004): 556 from North Carolina; 501, out-of-state. From 66 North Carolina counties, 45 states, 21 foreign countries. 201 in Dance, 196 in Design and Production, 128 in Drama, 240 in Filmmaking, 253 in Music, 37 in Visual Arts. 554 male; 503 female.

Faculty Profile: 172 includes 135 full-time, 37 part-time. Resident faculty is complemented by 200 notable guest artists each year.

Student/Faculty Ratio: 8:1

Average Class Size: 10

Tuition (2004-05): High school: 0 (in-state*), $6,583 (out-of-state) Undergraduate: $2,755 (in-state), $14,035 (out-of-state) Graduate: $3,167 (in-state), $14,601 (out-of-state)

• The state of North Carolina now pays the full cost of attending NCSA (tuition, fees, and room and board) for all in-state students who are accepted into the high school program.

Facilities: Eleven performance and exhibition spaces comparable to the best in the industry

Endowment: $15.3 million (as of June 30, 2004)

Operating Budget: $27.3 million (as of July 1, 2004)

Degrees, Diplomas Awarded: Dance – High School Diploma (8th-12th grades), Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), College Arts Diploma Design and Production – B.F.A., College Arts Diploma, Master of Fine Arts (three years) Drama – High School Diploma (12th grade only), B.F.A., College Arts Diploma Filmmaking – B.F.A., College Arts Diploma, M.F.A. (two years) Music – High School Diploma (9th-12th grades), Bachelor of Music, College Arts Diploma, Master of Music (two years), Professional Artist Certificate (one year, post-master’s) Visual Arts – High School Diploma (11th & 12th grades)

External links

• NCSA website

University of North Carolina System

Appalachian State | East Carolina | Elizabeth City State | Fayetteville State | N.C. A&T | N.C. Central | N.C. School of the Arts | N.C. State | UNC Asheville | UNC Chapel Hill | UNC Charlotte | UNC Greensboro | UNC Pembroke | UNC Wilmington | Western Carolina | Winston-Salem State | N.C. School of Science & Math University of North Carolina Seal The University of North Carolina System is a sixteen university system which comprises all public 4-year colleges and/or universities in North Carolina and consists of 16 separate campuses across the state. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Appalachian State University (sometimes referred to as ASU or simply App) is the sixth-largest university in the system of the University of North Carolina. ... East Carolina University (ECU) is a public, coeducational, research intensive university located in Greenville, North Carolina, USA. ECU is the third largest university in North Carolina with an enrollment of over 23,000 students and is a part of the University of North Carolina system. ... Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) is an institution of higher learning located in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. ... Fayetteville State University is a four-year university located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. ... North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) is a land-grant doctoral/research intensive university located in Greensboro, North Carolina. ... North Carolina Central University (NCCU) is a historically black college located in Durham, North Carolina. ... North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Also known as NC State, the university is the principal technological institute of the University of North Carolina. ... The University of North Carolina at Asheville (known for short as UNC Asheville or UNCA) is a public liberal arts university in Asheville, North Carolina. ... The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public, coeducational, research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. ... The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC-Charlotte, UNC-C, or for athletics purposes, Charlotte) is a public university located in Charlotte, North Carolina. ... The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a public university in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA and is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. ... The University of North Carolina at Pembroke is a public university in Pembroke, North Carolina. ... The University of North Carolina at Wilmington is a public university located in Wilmington, North Carolina. ... Western Carolina University Western Carolina University is one of the sixteen public universities that make up the University of North Carolina system and offers degree programs at the bachelor, masters and doctorate levels. ... Winston-Salem State University is a four-year is a public, coeducational, research university located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. ... The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) is a two-year, public residential high school located in Durham, North Carolina. ...