<p>BFA is a Bachelor of Fine Arts, which has more practice and technical training in the arts and fewer general education requirements. BA is Bachelor of Arts, which generally means more requirements in many other departments but you still can major in Theater, or Art or Dance because you want to study them, love doing them, and so forth.</p>
<p>Both take four years to complete.</p>
<p>The BFA is a degree around 25 years old, but folks in the arts have heard of it. Someday, you might have to explain it to a business employer at an interview who isn't familiar with a BFA, so they understand it was a four-year degree at a university, and not some two-year technical certificate or something.</p>
<p>Use the searchword function on BFA to read all the pro's and con's of each degree. There have been many threads on CC about this.</p>
<p>A big difference for a potential theater major such as yourself is whether or not the program has a "non-audition" major. In some unis/colleges, their BA lets you declare a theater major without requiring you to audition your way in. Check each department carefully, however, by website to know if their theater major is "audition" or "non-audition." Some BA programs do require auditions to major in Theater. Each school is different; check carefully.</p>
<p>If you take a BFA in theater arts, you can expect a requirement to audition, in order to enter the program. Once in, you'll take more hours of coursework in theater but less in other subject areas.</p>
<p>In actual fact, you can do quite a lot of theater in a non-audition BA program, too, depending on how many courses are offered, how many performances are put up each term at the college, whether there are many student-produced performances, and how often there are faculty/departmental productions. </p>
<p>Many students majoring in Theater in BA programs do not only want to perform onstage, but enjoy studying the Liberal Arts with their core academic emphasis in the theater. Some are also busy writing plays, producing them, studying theater history, or reading new playwrights in their courses. They take many Acting courses and participate fully in stage productions. Post-college, if a job is advertised "B.A. required" they don't have to explain their degree to the employer.</p>
<p>If you hope to act in plays during your college years, it could be rough to be a Theater Major/BA program in the SAME school that offers BFA's in Acting. Then, you have to compete for parts against those BFA students, who might be better known to the faculty or directors casting the parts.</p>