Carnegie Mellon vs. Northwestern

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

<p>Hello All,</p>

<p>I've been presented with a dilemma that I am truly blessed to have, as I have been accepted to both Northwestern's Theater major and Carnegie Mellon's Directing BFA. At both schools I have plans to double major in Economics, considering Northwestern is a BA and kids double major all the time and I made it into the BHA program at CMU which will grant me the Directing BFA & Arts and Sciences BA at the same time. I want to go to school for theater to become a director/playwright, hopefully one day owning my own theater company and being artistic director. But right now, I have no idea which one to choose. Northwesterns Arts and Sciences school is more respected than CMU's but I feel as if CMU's drama school is more respected and it is a huge honor that I even made it into the program (I was 1 of the only 5 directing students selected). At the end of the day, theater is not a steady way of life, and I always want to have a strong liberal arts education to fall back on, but I really want to be able to get the best training in the art that I love so much while I can. Can anyone give me the pros and cons of each program/their own advice on what they would do in my situation?</p>

2

<p>woah! I have no advice, but congratulations!!! you seriously cannot go wrong with that choice!!</p>

3

<p>Congratulations, GTS. I would not go so far as to give you advice, but I will make a few general observations (very general, since my D is in an acting program, not a directing program). Anyway . . . while I am not familiar with the BHA program at CMU, in general Northwestern is much more set up for double majors than CMU. At NU it is very common forundergraduates to double major, even in the theatre program. Part of it I think is that the administration has a more positive approach to double-majoring than CMU does; perhaps it has something to do with the fact that NU is more selective than CMU, and definitely seems to attract/admit the “go-getter” type. </p>

<p>Insofar as majoring in theater is concerned, as you know, CMU is a conservatory BFA program and NU is a liberal arts BA program. At CMU the actors (and I would assume the directors) are all given the fullest support of the program in terms of access to curriculum, showcases, etc. At NU (again, in acting at least), there is definitely some weeding out, and not every student admitted to the theater program receives access to all of the professional training, roles in productions, or to the out of town showcases.</p>

<p>Finally, there is the environment. Pittsburgh is an OK city, but not exceptionally exciting, whereas Chicago is . . . In addition, because NU has a much larger student body, there are many more activities going on on campus. And as I alluded to above, the overall energy level of the student body is much higher at NU. The winters stink in both cities, but Chicago is colder.</p>

<p>I guess my bottom line is that as a school, my feeling is that NU has more to offer, but the program at CMU may be superior for you and give you significantly more of what you are looking for in a theater program. I believe you will get an excellent education and can have a great experience at either school. </p>

<p>Good luck, and let us know what you decide, and why.</p>

4

<p>Here’s the list of notable alums for both schools:
[Carnegie</a> Mellon School of Drama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Mellon_School_of_Drama]Carnegie”>Carnegie Mellon School of Drama - Wikipedia)
[Northwestern</a> University School of Communication - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwestern_University_School_of_Communication]Northwestern”>Northwestern University - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>I am looking at the directing curriculum at CMU and it seems to me, there’d be fairly limited room for non-drama courses, let alone an econ major. <a href=“http://www.drama.cmu.edu/media/assets/Directingcurriculum20112012EDITED.pdf[/url]”>http://www.drama.cmu.edu/media/assets/Directingcurriculum20112012EDITED.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>At Northwestern, taking bunch of non-drama courses is not only encouraged but mandatory. Eighteen courses have to be outside the theater department. Here’s what I found in Northwesten’s catalog:</p>

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<p>Also take a look at
<a href=“http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/programs/certificate_creative_writing_media/[/url]”>http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/programs/certificate_creative_writing_media/&lt;/a&gt; I am not sure how difficult to get in, however.</p>

<p>One thing that is uncertain about Northwestern is how many opporuntities would be there for you to actually direct a production. There’s probably no gaurantee. But then how many directors out there actually had that kind of practice when they were in colleges?</p>

5

<p>If what you want to be is a playwright/director, then I would look at which program gives you the best opportunities to develop your skills as a playwright/director.</p>

<p>You also say you want a “Liberal Arts” education to fall back on, but Economics is not considered a “Liberal Art”. A performing art like theatre is much closer to being a liberal art than Economics is. With my BA in theatre I had no trouble finding “ordinary” jobs in Chicago–as a legal secretary–employers considered a BA in theatre to be the equivalent of a “Liberal Arts” degree.</p>

<p>KEVP</p>

6

<p>Wow - what a wonderful dilemma! Congratulations!!!</p>

<p>Okay, also coming from an acting perspective - CMU is arguably the best in the nation. It is however, a vocational school. It was established by Andrew Carnegie as such and it has basically continued as such. One of the finest trade schools in the world, but a trade school nonetheless. There is very little to no crossover between schools and very few requirements outside your major or school.</p>

<p>NU is pretty much the opposite. They believe in crossover between schools and having the trimester system allows for so many extra classes to be taken. Their playwright/director program is quite excellent and I believe you have to apply for the playwright program during your Freshman or Sophomore year. In terms of directing possibilites; there will be many, many opportunities for you to direct plays you have written and others have written. That should not be a concern. </p>

<p>What you need to do is visit each school and ask the “hard” questions. If you cannot visit then you need to really research the classes available to you both within and outside your major. I am also a bit skeptical about a double major at CMU. You need to call the school and arrange phone conversations with professors and students if you cannot visit.</p>

<p>Both schools are very well respected and no one will dismiss you for graduating from NU vs CMU.</p>

7

<p>Many congrats, greetthesun! You have two excellent choices and you can’t really go wrong with either. What an honor to be accepted into CMU’s BHA program. My D was interested in that when she applied many moons ago and it’s truly a fabulous program. It will enable you to get the best of both worlds of academia and the arts, and will provide you, in my opinion, with every bit as valuable an experience as Northwestern will. Study the course options, if you haven’t already done so and you will see what will be available to you at both schools. Have you visited both? You really can’t go wrong with either school. Best of luck to you!</p>