Information about Program and Scholarship
The Bert C. Bach Fine and Performing Arts Scholars program (BCBFPA) was created in 2005 as a competitive scholarship program that was a part of the Honors College with a mission which emphasizd a shared and collaborative approach learning and “cross-training” amongst artists of diverse areas, including: digital media, theatre, dance, performance voice, classic music styles as well as bluegrass, and the two- and three-dimensional fine arts. Nearly 200 students have completed the program, participating in every arts progrm at ETSU, and many have gone on to exciting careers and graduate school in the arts.
In 2023, the BCBFPA program moved to the Mary B Martin School of the Arts (MBMSOTA) with an updated curriculum that is specifically designed to educate artists of the 21st century while remaining open to all of the arts at ETSU. Acceptance into the program is through a competitive application process.
The BCBFPA program is designed to support an interdisciplinary group of student artists who will share the experience of learning about the arts together. It offers a distinctive curriculum focused on fostering artistic identities and professional practices that is embedded in the required Fine & Performing Arts Scholars Minor. Students accepted into the program are pushing the boundaries, defining and constructing new works, learning what is needed survive as a professional, and pursuing your own major creative works and projects.
Scholarship: the BCBFPA Scholarship awards up to $5000 per year (split between the Fall and Spring semester) to all students accepted into the program, both in-state and out-of-state students. The scholarship is available for a total of eight semesters for incoming first year students and up to six semester for students already enrolled at ETSU. The scholarship is no longer awarded after a student’s senior year.
The BCBFPA program includes additional benefits, such as:
- Additional Advising: BCBFPA students receive individual advising with the program Director, helping to make sure you are on track to meet your educational goals. You will not be alone. You will be surrounded and supported by your student colleagues and faculty mentors. They will be your best friends and most honest critics. You will have the opportunity to share your artistic endeavors and part of your coursework with other arts scholars and work with exceptional faculty artists in your field.
- Priority Registration: BCBFPA are permitted to register for courses early, which insures an opportunity to register for desired courses that best fit with their schedule.
- Degree Recognition: on competition of the program requirements, BCBFPA receive recognition of accomplishment on the university degree and transcript.
- Internships and Intensive, High Impact Experiences: BCBFPA students are connected with internships on campus and in the region, and are supported by intensive and high impact classes such as study abroad.
Students in the BCBFPA program are required to be active members of the ETSU Arts community. Additionally, they are required to major in one of ETSU’s arts and register for the Fine and Performing Arts Studies Minor as part of their degree program. When an arts area only exists as a minor at ETSU – Dance, Creative Writing and Film Studies, as examples – minoring in one of these fulfills the requirement. All BCBFPA students are required to register in their arts area by the end of their first Fall semester.
FPA Legacy Students
The BCBFPA program continues to support FPA students – referred to as legacy students – currently in the Honors College. Information about the FPA program in the Honors College, such as policies and thesis, can be found HERE.