CCM Cincinnati Conservatory BFA ACTING CLASS OF 2026

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
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My D was accepted to CCM for a BFA in acting, Could someone share their experiences and knowledge about the acting program and college life. We know that their MT program is well known, but we can’t find much about acting.

thanks

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My kid is an acting major at CCM, so happy with the program! Here is what I know from this experience so far:

  • CCM acting students are committed, very talented, dedicated and ambitious

  • each class of acting majors is a close-knit group (15 -23 students per year), they are chill, diverse, authentic/quirky, compete but they’re not backbiting, not the place for a diva or someone who needs drama (socially!)

  • the whole acting program is also a group, freshman through seniors support each other, work together and see each other socially, social opportunities (& parties) are usually just acting majors w/ occassionaly MT and other students (regular parties, but peer pressure is minimum, some students just see classmates in school)

  • there’s a class hierarchy within the program (juniors & seniors lead group projects, freshman are assigned a “big”/a student mentor)

  • acting program is totally separate from MT, CCM acting majors want to be actors (acting program is not a lesser version of MT)

  • freshman dorms are not great, but students live right next to CCM acting building, meal plan is bad and mandatory, after freshman year many acting majors find apartments with or next to each other in a nearby neighborhood (actors row)

  • little college on a big campus - CCM is a little corner of the University of Cincinnati, most CCM acting students spend almost all of their time within CCM because they are so busy, but UC campus is available

  • UC campus is a nice, hilly, walking campus, big but frustratingly bureaucratic to work with as a parent, CCM is small and artistic, much better communication within CCM

  • most CCM students don’t have cars, Cincinnati has very nice/safe parts of town and dodgy parts like most cities that size, the area immediately near CCM has a college town feel, everyone walks night & day, but campus is not far from the don’t-walk-alone part of town (no safety issues, just FYI if you’re driving around)

  • CCM is a true conservatory: only 2 gen ed courses at UC required (ENG 101 & social science), instead CCM acting freshman start coursework & training right away in acting, movement, voice, film, voiceover, history of theatre, script analysis, technical production

  • very small class size with lots of individual feedback and support from instructors, every student is individually evaluated by several instructors twice a year for progress (not everyone passes, but students are not cut if they don’t pass)

  • faculty is excellent, committed to student success and accessible to students, main acting dept instructor is retiring, no word on a replacement yet, he is the best and seems irreplaceable, fingers crossed for someone amazing to fill those big shoes!

  • freshman don’t perform in CCM productions, but there are other opportunities in workshops, voiceover, and Transmigration: a Festival of Student Created New Works

  • actors train in stage acting and acting for the camera, and with the new Media Production Division at CCM there are more training and performance opportunities in film, TV, new media, voiceover etc. Lots of non-stage acting training vs. many other acting programs

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That is a lot of great information, and very helpfull.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write it! :blush: