Hello! I want to go to school to study acting, with my main interest within the field being in Screen acting. I was wondering which schools are best for that in regards to the amount of classes/types of classes and the training. My list is this:
USC
Northwestern
Juilliard
BU
Rutgers
UCLA
UC San Diego
Brown
UNC Chapel Hill
UNCSA
UC Irvine
Syracuse
Ithaca
Elon
U Miami
U Minnesota
UT Austin
Fordham
CalArts
Which of these schools are known to be good for screen acting? Also, if there are any I should consider adding to my list, I’d be more than happy to hear them! I’m also open to opinions on schools that might be worth taking off as well. Whatever insight anybody has is much appreciated! Thank you so much!
@bfahopeful Is Pace much like NYU? I didn’t like NYU because it didn’t have much of a campus, and I have in the past overlooked Pace because I assumed it to be the same, but do you know if it has more of that quintessential college campus feel?
@sebbysabby - nothing to do with the acting program -but have you visited the BU campus? You noted that you don’t care for NYU’s lack of traditional campus (totally valid concern), BU is very much the same urban type of campus set up.
@toowonderful I have and totally unexpectedly–I loved it! It could be because I took the theater program tour before the actual tour but I also felt like it had more of a campus than NYU for whatever reason.
@sebbysabby - no worries, so much is personal perception I just wanted to make sure you were aware. When my D was looking at schools I was a cheerleader for the “traditional” campus experience, but she loved the urban schools. In the end, I had to adjust, after all, it is HER college experience, not mine
@sebbysabby as noted above Pace is an urban campus. The PA school is in one building and Pace’s campus is in the surrounding blocks. All seemed to be walking distance vs some other
Urban schools where buildings are pretty far apart.
The blocks right by the PA building are an adorable neighborhood with brownstones and has a family feel. Ironic to me as it is also the financial district and right by ground zero.
I have only visited -my D doesn’t attend there. @marg928 has more experience with Pace PA school if you have specific questions.
My D attends UNCSA. That is a traditional campus a couple miles south of downtown Winston Salem. Although “traditional” at an arts school means they have a film lot on campus vs a football field. Lol.
I have a child at Pace, and it has a very different feel from NYU but make no mistake: it is an urban setting. If you didn’t like NYU because it is “in and of the city” then I think it likely you will feel the same about Pace. It is situation smack in the middle of the financial district and doesn’t have a campus per se. We love the school, and our child is having a great experience there in the BFA Acting program, but it’s all about fit for you.
@Delegator Thank you for the insight! I will probably check it out to be sure since it is very well regarded for acting, and I might be going to NYC for a weekend to see Fordham and if we have time to see Juilliard again. I’m hoping that I will like it given what it has to offer!
This year I will be a freshman at Northwestern University, with an intention to major in Theatre so I’ll try to pass on what I’ve learned about the School of Communication at NU.
Northwestern has a separate major for the screen called RTVF (which is an acronym for radio, television, and film). However, this major seems to be more focused on the behind the scenes work, teaching about production and analysis. Meanwhile, a lot of the aspiring actors are in the theatre major.
HOWEVER, Northwestern also has a “module” called “acting for the screen.” This is a program is a collaboration between the theatre and RTVF departments that has students take a specific set of courses to give them an in depth study of screenacting. If you want to apply to NU, I would recommend doing your own research on modules, as they are a very unique program that is soemwhat difficult to explain but nonetheless very cool.
Additionally, Northwestern does have a lot of alumni who are quite famous screen actors, such as Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Schwimmer, and Stephen Colbert. In short, I think there are probably better schools for screen actors than Northwestern, but it is definitely still a good choice, especially of you have other areas of academic interest that you want to explore while in college.
One final note: I applied to the University of Minnesota, but I have to say I would not recommend it to someone looking to be a screen actor. The U of MN has a great BFA theatre program, but that is very much a classical theatre program, and a lot of the work they do is in conjunction with the Guthrie, a well respected local theatre. I don’t think the program would do anything to prepare you for screen acting. They also have a BA theatre program and a film major, but both are pretty unremarkable and more focused on analysis and production than on acting.
@lylee17 Thank you so much! This is wonderful and so extremely helpful as I have been extremely curious about Northwestern and its program, so thank you so so much!
My D went to Northwestern, majoring in theatre, and completed the module Acting for Film. She loved it, and felt she learned a great deal. (The RTVF is indeed focused on behind the scenes, not acting.)
I also second Chapman as an excellent school for acting for film.
The ‘best’ school for screen acting is going to be the one that first and foremost teaches you best how to ACT. There are differences between stage and screen, but the basics remain the same and should have become a matter of reflex by the time you take them into the real world. It will also hopefully offer at least a year of specific on-camera training by an experienced faculty member and will make some kind of an effort to give you a launch into the profession when you graduate. The school sharing a campus with a film school or being located in a city with an active filmmaking community with opportunities to collaborate would also be an auspicious sign. And the ability to graduate without being burdened by the kind of debt that will keep you from being able to afford the additional post-graduate studio training you’ll probably need is fairly crucial.
The proof’s always in the pudding, so don’t be afraid to ask about working alumni when decision time comes around. Pay attention to the kinds of roles the alumni are booking, too. You want to see principal and major supporting in film and series regulars and recurrings on tv. Just don’t give much consideration to under five line co-star/day player roles. Someone with the right look can just show up in LA and take a few on-camera classes and have just as good a chance of booking those as someone with an MFA from Yale and besides them requiring very little skill, you can’t really make a living doing them anymore. You want to see RECENT graduates as well. Not people that graduated 20 years ago under a different faculty.
Rutgers MGSA is a great school for film acting. They are laser focused on training first so don’t do formal on camera work until senior year. Many recent grads are having success in film/screen. Just off the top - Pico Alexander (Reese Witherspoon movie out now), Brandon Flynn (13 Reasons Why), Christian Navarro (13 Reasons Why, Vinyl), Shyrley Rodriguez (The Get Down). And of course lots of success in theater too.
Thanks @fishbowlfreshman
That list is so great. I will add that the list was posted pre-graduation this past May. Several grads from UNCSA (graduated in May 2017) are or have been filming various netflix/hulu/amazon series, etc. There are also some slightly older grads (still in 20s) booking leads in various tv shows. There are alumni of all ages working in film (Anna Camp, Mary Louise Parker, etc). Would guess this is similar to other schools, too.
@braveheart52 the book looks very interesting. It’s premise focuses on the “business of acting” and it assumes most Schools don’t teach that. I suggest those interested ask schools if they do. I know several do focus on the business including the film industry during 4th year especially. (Juilliard and uncsa do this for example. I am sure others do too).
I just wanted to make sure you were aware. When my D was looking at schools I was a cheerleader for the “traditional” campus experience, but she loved the urban schools. In the end, I had to adjust, after all, it is HER college experience, not mine