What is the Alternate Route DMT?
A Brief Guide to Becoming an R-DMT with EEIC
Acronym Key:
EEIC - Embodied Education Institute of Chicago
AR - Alternate Route
DMT - Dance/Movement Therapy
R-DMT - Registered Dance/Movement Therapist
BC-DMT - Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist
ADTA - American Dance Therapy Association
DMTCB - Dance Movement Therapy Certification Board
When you decide to pursue a Dance/Movement Therapy certification, you will discover two potential routes. The “traditional” path is through graduate school programs that offer dance/movement therapy courses alongside a master's degree. The “non-traditional” path is called Alternate Route DMT, which is what we offer here at the Embodied Education Institute of Chicago.
The ADTA developed the Alternate Route to allow aspiring therapists to follow a flexible, self-directed path to earning their credentials. All our courses are approved by the ADTA and apply credit hours directly toward your R-DMT credential. All of our teachers are DMTCB certified and licensed counselors.
What’s the difference between a Master’s program & an Alternate Route program?
There are only 7 ADTA-approved DMT graduate programs available in the US, while we are one of 14 freestanding institutions around the world that offer ADTA-approved Alternate Route classes. Four of the graduate programs also allow AR students access to their courses.
A graduate program will package psychology classes and DMT classes in one program. The benefit of this structure is having all of your courses in one place, the option for financial aid, and access to their internship placements. The downside to a graduate program is that, as we mentioned, there are very few options available, the cost is significantly higher, and it is more likely to require full-time, in-person schooling.
The Alternate Route program separates your DMT classes from your official psychology graduate school courses. You may have completed your master’s prior to AR enrollment or you will enroll in AR and a master’s program concurrently. At EEIC, you can complete all 28 credit hours necessary to satisfy the ADTA requirements. You also have the option to piece together classes from a variety of AR programs.
On the AR track, you do not have to be enrolled full-time or complete all of the classes within a certain time period. It is a cost-effective alternative at just $425/credit with the opportunity for discounts and payment plans. And the schedule is structured to meet the needs of our busy students with many classes taking place over just a couple of weekends or in the morning/evenings across several weeks.
What we love most about the Alternate Route is the flexibility it offers our students. You can take your time, select the classes that speak to you, and receive an excellent education from board-certified dance/movement therapists who are passionate about their work. When you take classes through EEIC, we also assist with internship placement, ADTA applications, and arranging your class schedule.
What certification do you receive at the end of the Alternate Route program?
The 28 credit hours that you complete with us will satisfy the DMT coursework requirement for your ADTA/DMTCB application. The only way to become a registered dance/movement therapist is to apply through the DMTCB. Luckily, in addition to our classes, we offer advisement to support your DMT journey. We’ll help you plan your courses, get placed with an internship, provide a course transcript, and help prepare your application for your R-DMT.
It is important to note that this is the same between Alternate Route and graduate school programs. The institution will supply you with the necessary credit hours and opportunities to fulfill the R-DMT requirements, but it is ultimately up to the DMTCB to award the credential. It is then your post-graduate work that would prepare you to apply approximately 2 years later for your BC-DMT.
What are the qualifications or prerequisites for applying to the Alternate Route program?
To register for classes with us, we ask for the following:
- Completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees or current enrollment in a master’s program
- program should be in a related area such as counseling, psychology, or social work
- 5+ years of dance experience in any style
- with some experience during the last two years
All EEIC classes are at the master’s level. Our cohort curriculum has a brief application process. An application is required for all AR-DMT classes. While classes are still available for purchase individually, priority is given to our committed cohort students.
How do I register for EEIC’s program?
In 2021, we released a brand new, streamlined registration process. All of our class descriptions are available on the Alternate Route DMT page. To apply for our AR program, fill out this brief application. After you've receive confirmation from us, you can click register within the course descriptions or navigate directly to our Class Registration page. Please fill out our registration form thoroughly and pay for your classes upon registration or set up a payment plan.
In addition to the AR program, we offer online continuing education courses including Embodied Ethics and Sexual Harassment Prevention & Response. You can visit the Continuing Education page to read course descriptions and see when the next classes will be offered.
What sets EEIC apart from other Alternate Route programs?
At EEIC, we believe in embodied learning and providing a holistic education. All of our faculty is directly from the Columbia College Chicago dance/movement therapy program, which is no longer available. Our teachers are seasoned educators who built our curriculum based on their prior classes taught in a university setting. We pride ourselves on being informed, well-versed leaders in our field.
We are acutely aware of the need to integrate social justice and cultural humility into our work as dance/movement therapists. We have a course dedicated specifically to that subject, although we strive to integrate those important conversations into all of our classes.
We keep up with the most recent and relevant research in dance/movement therapy and include the most up-to-date publications as resources in the classrooms.
Our curriculum is structured sequentially with classes building upon each other. When COVID-19 arrived, we moved quickly to restructure our curriculum to be delivered online with the same quality and energy as our in-person courses. Additionally, we implemented a new system that makes it easy to register for our classes on our website.
Our advisement offering is also unique to our Alternate Route program. We have a student advisor available to support you through the program, place you with internships, and connect you to fieldwork. Our current advisor is the former internship advisor for Columbia College Chicago.
As a bonus, we are the only AR program that offers Anatomy/Kinesiology. Join us today to begin your journey toward becoming a credentialed dance/movement therapist.
If you have any questions at all about our Alternate Route or Continuing Education programs, please reach out to embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com