Best programs for design/technical production?

I’m looking for BA or BFA programs that are strong in design and technical production. But there’s one important caveat - the school must also have generous financial aid. So I’m looking at schools on the following list:

Amherst College
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Claremont McKenna College
Colby College
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Davidson College
Duke University
Emory University
Haverford College
Harvard University
Lafayette College
Lehigh University
Northwestern University
University of Chicago
UNC Chapel Hill
University of Pennsylvania
Pomona College
Princeton University
Rice University
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
Tufts University
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College
University of Virginia
Washington and Lee University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
College of William and Mary
Yale University

Any help would be appreciated!!!

Are you looking for need based aide, merit aide, or both? That is an important distinction for many of your schools. For example, I believe Northwestern offers to meet full need based aide, but is notoriously stingy with merit aide.

Also, all of the colleges on your list are EXCELLENT schools (and academically competitive) but not all are known for strong theater programs. What element is most important to you- the program, the aide, or the school?

The colleges I listed have traditionally offered generous need-based aid. Merit aid is not an issue. I realize these schools are ridiculously competitive, but, because of the family’s financial situation, these are the only colleges (other than their state university) that would be affordable. And what I’m hoping to find out (without having to go to each school’s website to research their course offerings) is which of these schools has a strong program in design and technical production.

Yale, for example, has strong graduate programs in design and production, but few, if any, undergraduate courses in those fields.

From my knowledge (which is focused on performance rather than tech) the schools on your list with the strongest undergraduate theater programs are Northwestern (a major player) Brown, and Wesleyan (currently particularly hot b/c it is alma mater of bway darling Lin Manuel Miranda). Yale and Harvard have world famous graduate theater programs- not sure how that translates to undergrad tech theater.

Thanks - I’ll take a look at those!

Dartmouth is a great school, and I had a helluva time there, but it is not known for theatre especially. (Though it’s got some interesting alumni notwithstanding.)

I’d say Brown, Vassar, Northwestern, Washington St. Louis are the best theater schools on your list. My S applied to Davidson as well, and I fell in love with it and they have pretty good theater, but he just got WL and anyway was pretty dead set on a BFA by then.

Thanks, @Jkellynh17! Vassar & WashU were already on my short list, so now that’s two votes for Brown and Northwestern.

I noticed you had UNC Chapel Hill on your list, have you looked at UNCSA? The general manager of one of the top regional theatre companies in the US said he’d hire any tech person from their program right out of college because they are so well prepared for the “real world” of theatre.

I highly recommend this thread:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/623794-technical-theater.html

I would scrap most of that list. Unless you have a 4.5 gpa, you are not going to get into most of those schools and unless your family is quote poor, you are not going to get much financial aid. If you really want to work in theatre tech, concentrate on the schools that are known for that. My son in the BFA/theatre design and tech program at Pace University, where he gets VERY generous merit aid and is making key NYC theatre contacts. Also look at Syracuse, Ithaca, Carnegie Mellon, Univ. of Cincinnati, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Boston University, Emerson University. Good luck!

@Virginia718 - I appreciate your thoughts, but the list is what it is, and those are the only schools this student can consider. Even with very generous merit aid, none of the schools you suggested would be affordable. The reality is that for a very low income student, there are only two options - attend college in-state, or have a 4.0 GPA and killer ACT/SAT scores. Obviously, there’s no guarantee he’ll be admitted . . . but he has to try!

@MilouForever - Thanks for the suggestion - UNSCA sounds like it would be fantastic, but for an out-of-state student, it just wouldn’t be affordable.

@craspedia - Wow - that’s a long thread! I’m going to have some reading to do . . . thanks!

@Virginia718 the OP was already trying to scrap most of their list, that’s the whole purpose of the question. That said, many years ago, a highly gifted classmate of mine who was very serious about theater also chose Pace.

I’ll second Wesleyan (based on extensive info from a tour guide there). Joss Whedon is also an alum. One of the Questbridge kids this year only ranked Wesleyan and Carleton (matched to Wesleyan), planning to major in film, so Carleton is possibly one to add to your list. Our son goes to Haverford, and although he loves that school, you should probably take it off the list as it’s not a theater powerhouse.

Not a lot of tech classes at Carleton, unfortunately, or I’d be encouraging this student to consider it. My own son absolutely loved it when he visited a few years ago, and they’re very generous with financial aid. (They do include loans in their FA packages, but they’re capped well below the federal max.)

I think you should add Syracuse. I remember that their net price calculator came very, very close to our EFC, so they do at least pay lip service to meeting need (S didn’t get in, so I can’t say about the actual package).

We were also in the position to get a fair amount of need-based aid, though sadly, did not get admitted into any colleges that met need. (Funny how that works.)

I appreciate the suggestion, @Jkellynh17, but really can’t stray very far from the posted list. Schools that meet need with loans, even if it’s just federal student loans, aren’t an option for him. He may need to have those loans available to pay for health insurance and other expenses.

Okay, you know best. Davidson, I believe, is a no-loan school.

My daughter is an acting major at UMBC in Maryland. Although I don’t know how the content of their BA Design & Production major compares to other schools, I can tell you that I’ve been to several of their productions and have been impressed with the design/tech of each. The department is creative and out-of-the-box, so they have some super-interesting production ideas. They have a new performing arts building with proscenium and black box theatres and new equipment.

Here is a link to the D&P curriculum: http://theatre.umbc.edu/programs/ba_designandproduction/

And here is a link to their library collection of production photos http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/theatreprod

You said that ‘merit aid is not an issue’ but I’m not sure if you mean that your student wouldn’t qualify for merit aid? You also mentioned concern about out-of-state-costs for state universities. Several kids I know in the program (from in state AND out of state) are on full-tuition scholarships–UMBC offers up to full-tuition scholarships for academic merit and also a great program (Linehan Artist Scholars) for students in visual and performing arts that (in addition to the scholarship) includes seminar courses, frequent cultural field trips and funds for study/research. There is also an option to live in the performing arts living/learning community.

I’m sure there are a number of excellent theatre programs at various state universities, and this student is fortunate to reside in a state that has its own excellent program (although admission is highly competitive). But for a very low income student, a full-tuition scholarship doesn’t even come close to meeting that student’s need - room & board, books, transportation costs, health insurance, and personal expenses all still need to be paid.

The schools I listed have traditionally met their accepted students’ full need, with no loans for the lowest income students. Merit scholarships, other than for National Merit Scholars, just can’t match that.