Aerial view of the University of California, Irvine
Welcome to UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts

Welcome to campus!

Welcome! Explore the Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA) by taking a virtual tour of the school, attend an an online or in-person event, and get to know our four departments!

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts has proven itself to be a national leader in training emerging artists and performers since its establishment in 1965. It was originally known as the University of California, Irvine’s School of Fine Arts, but with its expansion of programs and focus over the years, it evolved into the School of the Arts. In 2000, the School was named in honor of Academy Award-winning actress Claire Trevor and her involvement with the School and its students.

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts is a national leader in training future generations of artists and scholars who will go on to electrify audiences in theatres, galleries and concert halls – as well as in entertainment and technology-related venues throughout the world.

The School delivers a superb developmental experience, combining superlative artistic training with a top-ranked liberal arts education. It is home to the departments of Art, Dance, Drama, and Music, in addition to a program in Arts and Humanities. Undergraduate and graduate degree courses include extensive studio, workshop and performance experiences; theoretical and historical studies; and arts and technology practices. Our Drama Department has one of the top Ph.D. program in the country, run jointly with UC San Diego, and ranked in the Top 10 in the U.S. 

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts provides excellent facilities to support artistic development and after-class life, including four theatres, a concert hall, three art galleries, the Beall Center for Art + Technology, electronic music studios, cutting edge costume, lighting, and scenic design studios, a stage production shop, digital arts labs, and a video production studio. We are one of the only university campuses in the area to boast a Performance Capture Studio and a fully equipped Meyer Sound Lab.

Our School of the Arts students regularly participate in choirs, instrumental ensembles, drama productions, dance performances and art exhibitions. Qualified students from other academic areas are also eligible to participate in many of these activities and are, in fact, encouraged to do so.

CTSA Welcome Week

View information for new students to attend department meetings and events in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. (For CTSA students only.)
 

Video about CTSA

At UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts, we reimagine creativity for the 21st century and beyond!

Claire Trevor School of the Arts sign

View the UCI interactive map for directions to the various locations on both the Claire Trevor School of the Arts and main campus.

Student Affairs team

The Arts Student Affairs Office provides Arts students services in academic counseling, orientation, study plans, transfer course evaluations, schedule changes, and degree checks.

UCI Arts sign

Take a closer look inside the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts. View our theatres, gallery spaces, laboratories, classrooms, concert hall and outdoor spaces.

Campus view

Get a bird's-eye-view of UCI's stunning Irvine campus.

Art students

The Department of Art in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts takes a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary view of contemporary art practice. The department provides students a solid theoretical and technical foundation from which to approach art-making as both process and product.

Dance students

The Department of Dance is nationally acclaimed and has a long-standing tradition of excellence and offers training in jazz, hip hop, multi-level sequences, and choreography for both theatre and video dance and provides students a variety of performance opportunities.

Drama students

The Department of Drama combines broad liberal study and comprehensive training in several sub-disciplines of drama that includes acting, directing, design, stage management, and theory as well as provide hands-on participation in productions throughout a student’s course of study to open them up to the broadest possible vistas.

UCI Symphony Orchestra performing

The curricular philosophy of the Department of Music is based on the ideals of the conservatory within the academy. The faculty is comprised of well-known composers, publishing scholars, musicologists and music theorists, conductors, and concert and recording artists.

Student artists in a gallery

UCI offers hundreds of student-run campus organizations both on- and off-campus. The clubs provide opportunities for students to pursue personal and professional goals through involvement. Explore a few here to find a community to grow your passions in art, dance, drama and music.

UCI Students

Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot.

UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts brochure covers information about our departments and various academic degrees available to students. 

Student admiring a piece of art

Review some of the accolades and statistics for the School.

Purchase Tickets

Peruse and purchase tickets for Claire Trevor School of the Arts in Dance, Drama and Music events at UCI.