<p>What's the difference for theatre study?</p>
<p>B.A. means you have to take 4 semesters of a foreign language. BFA’s do not require this. B.S. is usually more math/science classes instead of foreign language.</p>
<p>My daughter has opted for a B.S. because she hates foreign language. Makes absolutely no difference in the “real” world!</p>
<p>I would say that having a foreign language for an actor is way more important than math/science, especially in the “real” world. Don’t forget that Russia is pretty much the motherland of modern theater and that some of the most innovative theater-related stuff is being done mostly in Europe.</p>
<p>Besides, if you join a theater company or if you start shooting some big budget movies, you’ll probably want/have to travel, and knowing a foreign language will help you A LOT.</p>
<p>D is getting a BFA and there is no language requirement, but she, and I, agree with Milky on this one. A foreign language–or two or three!–can be an immense help in theater.</p>
<p>My daughter’s at Fordham in the auditioned BA program… which means 4 semesters of language. The carrot at the end of this stick is that in her 4th semester she can take Acting in Italian.</p>
<p>LOVE that, Glass!!!</p>
<p>Language is just not a reality in my family. I also got a BS instead of a BA in college so I wouldn’t have to take a foreign language, somehow I’ve traveled the world and had no problem. My daughter stopped taking French in high school even though it meant not going to France her senior year. She too has traveled the world with no problem and I seriously doubt it will create a problem professionally. Sometimes you just have to accept your limitations.</p>
<p>My daughter has an auditory processing disorder, so Italian is really hard on her. She can do the textbook work, but can’t understand the teacher (and the classes are conducted entirely in Italian.) She managed to get through high school with only 1.5 semesters of Spanish (and the final semester was a year of Spanish through distance-learning so it was not actual conversational Spanish.) </p>
<p>Although she would have never chosen to study Italian, I think in the end it will enrich her life. (“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger?”)</p>
<p>I speak four languages and I can tell you that there’s nothing like watching a play by Brecht in German, Lorca in Spanish or even acting Shakespeare in English. I feel really blessed with my knowledge because I know that once I graduate I can work in a variety of countries, or at least bring my plays to other countries. It is possible to travel to the big touristic countries and speak only English, but having been to Eastern Europe (and even in France, for that matter), I would have probably been misguided or not even understood if I didn’t speak German. My country, for example, has become a great power and is hosting the next world cup and I’m positive that everyone that doesn’t speak at least little bit of Spanish will be scr**** when they come here.</p>
<p>I guess you choose what you like to study the most, but saying that foreign language is no good in the “real” world is a very wrong statement.</p>
<p>Such a sweet deal your daughter was given, Glass. I think the 21st century artist has to be global and adaptable. I know that with this weird economy and with things changing as fast as they are, I wanna be able to be a chamaeleon and act in many languages, know how to write my own plays, produce my own work, act for the camera…you never know what tomorrow will bring, right?</p>
<p>I was a strong language student myself, and my daughter (oldest) was gifted in foreign language…and then came my two sons who have genuine learning problems that affect their ability to learn another language. I got a lot more understanding and tolerant of this problem very quickly. Thank goodness my theater kid has options in college, as I’d hate for him to hit the same roadblocks that caused huge problems for my older son (three tries before he conquered college Spanish). It’s hard to understand that learning issues are real if you haven’t lived with them, I guess. I was awful at math and still can’t remember numbers. Fortunately there are many ways to be “global and adaptable”!</p>
<p>There is no definitive answer to the O.P’s question. Each school has different requirements to earn the same degree (BA, BS, BFA) … There are schools that offer a BS in Theatre or Drama that DO NOT require more quantitative course work (ie. math and science). At these particular schools the BS degree is often used to indicate fewer liberal arts courses than the BA at that particular school and/ or more non-theatre credits than the BFA at that particular school. From school to school there is no way to compare without looking at required and available courses. Look at the required AND available curriculum at each of the schools on your list, talk to faculty, students, and alumni to get a sense of the opportunities in the programs.</p>
<p>In the end no one really cares that much professionally what degree… if you have a degree… where you earned a degree… they care that you are a strong as an artist, and right for the job.</p>
<p>milky, you are absolutely right. The only problem is that learning languages is very problematic. I studied two languages and HS and got very good at them - I think I had a talent for them, and happened to have two excellent teachers who were native speakers. But those opportunities are rare in most schools. I also had opportunities to travel and use those languages (when I was in Eastern Europe, I was fortunate to speak Russian, although many of my fellow travelers used German just as effectively, as you did). </p>
<p>Most US HS students study some language, and many become grammatically proficient, but I would venture to say that most never really learn to speak them. Even with two (or more) years of college language, most people don’t learn enough to enjoy literature or theatre, or even have a real conversation, in another language. My D1 took the required THREE years of language at her university (after taking 3 years in HS) and two years after graduating hardly feels she could speak with a child in it, let alone read a book with any proficiency. Retention is very difficult when you don’t use a language.</p>
<p>My D2 is in a BFA at a University which requires 2 years of FL. She is glad to study one (took 3 years of Spanish in HS but is hoping to learn another), but it is hard to find the time, and she’s painfully aware that without a real chance to learn effectively and to use it, she isn’t likely to become very fluent. </p>
<p>We all admire anyone who has the time and the opportunities to master a second language. It isn’t easy, even if you have the knack for it. I am a big advocate for requiring that students study languages, but I suspect there isn’t a significantly positive cultural effect, unless they can immerse or spend time abroad.</p>
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<p>All too true, unfortunately. Good point.</p>
<p>I’m thinking that amtc meant that in the grand scheme of things, how people regard your degree in the real world doesn’t depend on whether you have a BA or a BS.</p>
<p>As a matter of fact, I always thought I had a BA, then last year we had to bring our diplomas to the HR department (mine is practically hieroglyphics on a stone slab) so they could make a copy and I was shocked to find out I had a BS!</p>
<p>Thank you Marbleheader - that is what I meant. I also meant what Times3 said.</p>
<p>However, I also agree with what Milkshakespeare said, “saying that foreign language is no good in the “real” world is a very wrong statement” because I never said that. I said it makes “no difference” in the real world, which is a very different statement. The term “no good” and “no difference” are two very different things. Not to be snarky but perhaps I should have said it in one of your other languages.</p>
<p>Well, that was snarky. But I don’t want to discuss. And I still think it makes a difference anyway. One can argue that actually math and science for an actor make “no difference” in the “real world”. I respect that your daughter doesn’t like learning languages, but that doesn’t mean that a foreign language makes “no difference”, as you put it. Knowing a foreign language can open more doors for an actor than knowing algebra.</p>
<p>I agree that in the end, it doesn’t matter which degree you have, but you made a general statement that was very groundless based only on your daughter’s choices and that does not apply to most people, so I got annoyed.</p>
<p>Sorry amtc but that was a bit snarky :). I always think knowing a foreign language is a great thing. My European friends speak several languages. My daughter took French in hs but didn’t feel like she learned enough so she is also taking French in college. She also loves the fashion industry and French is also the language for business. My son took Latin in hs- which helped in on his SAT- but doesn’t really help much for acting. He has been studying Spanish in whatever free time he has. I used to dream that if I ever had three wishes granted to me, one of them would be to be fluent in every language of the world! Learning languages also helps with English.</p>
<p>On behalf of math-loving theatre kids everywhere, one of these days I’m going to come up for a great reason why that skill is of value to theatre kids of equal weight to foreign language or similar. Perhaps when converting currencies in all of those foreign countries she’s visiting? (While speaking fluent Spanish?) Might be a better connecting of the dots than simply helping the kids on the dorm floor get through calculus. </p>
<p>Meanwhile my non-theatre son will absolutely be looking for a college degree where foreign language is not a requirement. This despite actually having dual citizenship and a real reason to speak other languages because of the amount of time he spends in his other country. He’ll not learn a foreign language in school though much beyond knowing how to say “mustache in Spanish” and believe me, he’s tried. He’d need to live there and pick it up (which he’d be great at.) For some people, it’s really not easy.</p>
<p>Kind of feeling like the previous few posts (NOT the post from halflokum directly above, with whom I agree) reflect a lack of understanding. We aren’t talking about people who “don’t like learning languages.” We’re talking about people for whom it is a huge cognitive struggle. This is real stuff, not pretend. Dismissing it as a like/dislike choice is like saying somebody with a food allergy just “doesn’t like peanuts.”
Among the many skills actors need, empathy probably ranks up there… Sorry, but this pushing my buttons as a teacher of many very bright, talented people who have this disability.</p>