Indiana University’s Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance is moving from the College of Arts and Sciences to the Jacobs School of Music.

Jacobs School dean Abra Bush said conversations about taking over the department started nearly two years ago and gained momentum after a state law passed eliminating degree programs with low enrollment.

“In the summer after the legislative action, we realized the contemporary dance program was in trouble, and it needed a different kind of home,” Bush said.

Bush said during deliberations on how to integrate programs, leaders in both schools agreed that it made more sense for the entire department to transfer to the Jacobs School.

The Contemporary Dance and Musical Theatre degree programs will join the Jacobs School this July, and the remainder of the department’s programs will officially switch July 1, 2027.

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Bush said while some curricular adjustments are being made, class sizes will generally remain unchanged, no faculty or staff will be cut, and classes will stay in the same buildings.

“It's like a department is sort of breaking apart and just porting itself into the school, and there is no other adjustment out there except some process things and some accountability in terms of whom they are reporting to,” Bush said.

Bush said she’s excited for increased opportunities for collaboration and believes the merger will strengthen all of the Jacobs School programs.

“My ultimate goal is that all of these programs, irrespective of what they are, whether they have traditionally lived in Jacobs or they have traditionally lived in the college, are among the very finest in the United States,” Bush said.

Changes ahead include a combined season of traditional Jacobs School performances and performances from the Department of Theatre, Drama, and Dance, as well as a potential new name for the Jacobs School of Music to encompass the breadth of new program offerings.