Anyone double major in Musical Theatre AND Education?

My daughter wants to double major in both MT and Education. I was curious if anyone has actually done this, or know someone who has. She has been doing dual credit in high school and will graduate with 30 hours. We are staying in state, and have already made sure they will transfer. She has also decided to go the BA route to MT to give her more options to double major. I am just curious to see if anyone has done this and how much of a strain it was. She is planning on taking at least one summer session each summer. The only issue I see is the student teaching. However, if she much complete an extra year of school to do student teaching, she is completely willing to do that.

It sounds as if you have a good plan in place. You don’t say what school/BA program you are referring to. BA programs typically have fewer classes that focus on technical skills for singing, dancing and acting. than a BFA type program. So she may feel a need to supplement with additional classes in these areas. That may be possible to do at the school or there may be other resources where she’s located to get this additional training. It may be possible to minor in voice or dance. A minor in theatre probably would be more general classes and not so much acting training. Really study the curriculum and see what you can put together to achieve the end result you want. Of course it depends on what her end goal is. If she is hoping to perform upon graduation as a professional, I would encourage her to get as much training in these disciplines as possible in addition to what her BA major will provide.

I think this will be a question that will be best answered by the schools at which she has applied, and will be influencd by the state certification rules. There is no general answer.

For example, I teach in an intensive BA program where a student doing a double major with Musical Theatre and Theatre, with a Theatre Ed. concentration (something that has not yet been done) MAY be able to student teach spring of the 4th year, although fall of the 5th year is be more likely, possibly spring of the 5th year. A student double majoring with a “hard” subject (ie. English, History, Sciences, Math…), and doing the secondary ed. prep for 8-12, or a student double major with IDLS for K- 8 certification would likely need a full 5th year… possibly a 6th (but a masters would be included).

Great questions to ask!

Is the point of the double major because of a passion for both, or as a “fallback” option? This question is likely to come up in interviews.

We have had students go through Theatre Ed. certification, and Music Ed. certification and pursue professional careers as performers, and professional careers as educators right out of school. The question of ultimate goal does come up in interviews.

University of Utah has a theatre education BFA. They also allow other MT or Theatre BFA or BA students to get an endorsement in theatre teaching. Very interesting opportunities.

http://www.theatre.utah.edu/what-we-offer/areas-of-study/theatre-teaching/