<p>Hello all! I am not sure if there is a thread for this or not, in my searches I haven't really found anything. I currently am living in Southern Cali and am in community college here and just got cleared to transfer out. I want to study musical theater but also business or communications. I plan on being a casting director or maybe a spokes person for a company but want to continue to train my stage skills so I can act as well. I am trying to find a good Musical Theater BA Program that will allow me to double major or at least minor in other subjects. I have a strong interest in other fields but MT is my first passion. Also, casting directors should understand the art of acting. If anyone has any helpful info I am willing to hear and take all input. I am pretty open to schools anywhere. I really would like to venture out of Cali and see what else is out there. I want to go to a school where the average student can really excel but without worrying about getting cut or anything. Last, I would be transferring in.</p>
<p>A list of schools I have been looking at are:</p>
<p>UCLA
USC
UCI
Cal State Long Beach
Cal State Fullerton
Pace University
Marymount Manhattan
Emerson
Boston Uiversity
Muhlenberg
Drexel
University of Arizona
University of Indiana
Florida State
University of Colorado, Boulder
(any other suggestions will be greatly accepted! c:)</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat. I’m looking to find a BA program with intensive MT concentration as well as a good communications (mass media studies) program. So far my list includes:
Temple University and Muhlenberg College. I have other choices as well, but I still have to investigate their allowance of double majors.</p>
<p>As an example of the particular issues for transfer students into musical theatre I will use James Madison University, in VA, where I teach as an example. I believe many of the issues will be the same when trying to transfer to many MT programs, with or without the double major. We do have students who double major, at least one in the MT Concentration and Communications who started the program as a freshman, and will probably need an additional year or semester to graduate with both majors. Even without double majoring I believe it may be unrealistic to transfer into most MT programs after completing 2 years of college and graduate in only 2 more years. This would depend on accepted transfer credits in General Education and in the major, but in my experience at JMU, most will need 2.5 to 3 years to complete the program requirements, and I do not believe we are alone in this regard. Many Musical Theatre programs tend to be very credit intensive. At JMU it would be much easier to graduate in 2 years (as a junior transfer) in the Theatre Concentration (which has fewer required credits). Students in this concentration may take some musical theatre classes as electives, but have fewer required credits. I would check to see if this is possible at the schools you have on your list. In order to complete the double major in a resonable amount of time as a transfer student most here would follow this route, entering the Theatre Concentration and taking MT classes as electives. As a transfer student double majoring in Theatre and another area you may still find that it could take more than 2 years to complete the double major. Many students who double major without transferring will take more than 4 years to complete both majors. When students transfer they will find that courses they have taken count as electives, but do not meet the particular requirements at the new institution. However, before making a decision to attend the school you should receive a transfer credit evaluation which will allow you to figure out approximately how long it will take you to complete the program. This information may not be available to you until after you have applied and been accepted to the school. Also, if are completing your associates degree at a CC in your state, you may find that the CC has an agreement with the state colleges and universities in your state that would make it easier to graduate with only 2 more years at the state university. Check with a counselor at the CC. I would also suggest that you contact each program (regardless of public or private) that you are interested in directly. Transfer students have a more complicated set of questions, and the answers will vary from school to school, and program to program. Good Luck!!</p>
<p>American University in Washington D.C. has a BA in MT, and does allow double-majoring. They do require an audition for acceptance into the program, however.</p>
<p>AwaitingEv – of the schools you list above…</p>
<p>UCLA, USC, UCI, Cal State Fullerton, Pace University, Marymount Manhattan, Emerson, University of Arizona, University of Indiana, Florida State all have MT programs and I believe all require an audition. Emerson has a strong communications school as well, but I do not know how possible it is to double major. At the schools that are BFA MT programs you may find it impossible to double major, and it is very likely they may require you to do 4 years in the MT program to obtain the degree. </p>
<p>You mention that you are looking for a BA program… I do not know the ins and outs of all the schools on your list, but off the top of my head. UCLA is an auditioned BA, USC has a MT minor that students in the BA program can add onto the theatre major (some SoCo folk please correct me if I am wrong :)), Pace is a BFA MT, but they do have a BA program… you would want to find out what kinds of MT opportunities are open to the BA students. Marymount has a MT minor that it sounds like both BA and BFA students may add (although it sounds like it is more designed to go with the BA program… any current Marymount parents or students here to confirm?). Indiana has a BFA in MT that may not work with double majoring. Indiana also has a BA program and it sounds like students can take dance and voice lessons (although I do not think with the same faculty as the MT students… a current parent or student can confirm). Florida State has BFA MT programs, they also have a BA program, but I would suggest contacting All4FSU to inquire about the availability of MT classes and opportunities for BA students. UCI and CalState Fullerton have specific entrance requirements to the upper level MT training. I would suggest contacting the schools directly to fully understand the ins and outs of MTadmissions. A representative of the CalState Fullerton program posts regularly on the forum on the top of the page. </p>
<p>Boston University is a BFA program, but not in Musical Theatre. There are some parents of kids in BUs program who post here. One of them may be able to chime in with more info.</p>
<p>Muhlenberg and Drexel do not require an audition. I am not familiar with Drexel… but Muhlenberg has strong programs in Theatre, Music, and Dance… students can “build their own” MT program by taking advantage of the resources in the three areas.</p>
<p>Like American, JMU and Temple require an audition for admission to the BA MT concentration.</p>
<p>Drexel offers a 24-credit minor in theatre. No major.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at Boston University. Admission to BU’s School of Theatre BFA program is via a very selective audition process. </p>
<p>All freshman in the BU BFA program follow a required performance core curriculum which consists of classes in Acting, Voice & Speech, Movement, and Introduction to Dramatic Literature. There is also a required writing class that all BU freshman take.</p>
<p>At the end of the freshman year, S.O.T. students choose the Acting track or the Theatre Arts track. Theatre Arts students can design their own curriculum, which may include dance and vocal music classes and/or a minor in another program offered by the university. </p>
<p>Starting second semester of sophomore year, BFA students at BU may be cast in shows. BU does very few musicals, and those that they do produce tend to be by Brecht, Sondheim, etc., rather than lighter fare.</p>
<p>Did you mean IU (Indiana University in Bloomington, IN)- not University of Indiana (I don’t think there is a University of Indiana)? IU does have an MT program but it is by audition and I think they take maybe 10-12 people each year. However, they have a wonderful BA theatre program that offers a lot of versatility in what you can take. I know two students attending there-one in the MT program and one in the BA. </p>
<p>It’s a great liberal arts college and the Kelly School of Business is top-notch too. I don’t think you have to audition to get into the BA program there either. It’s much easier to double major with a BA program than a BFA program. It seems most MT programs are BFA’s and require so many credits, it’s almost impossible to double major. A good BA program in a liberal arts college may be an option worth considering.</p>
<p>I was looking at James Madison the other day actually. I am very interested in your program. I hear it is an young program but already producing magnificent results. I do understand that by transferring and wanting to obtain a double major I am looking at about 5 years. I actually started college early, during my senior year, at my local community college and by that have obtain the privilege to transfer earlier then my graduating class. So, after I transfer I am looking at 3 years at my university/college which is perfectly fine with me. My main focus is MT of course but I have other interests,it seems I need to find a BA MT program or minor in order to obtain the degrees I would like. So far it looks as if I will be focusing most of my attention on:</p>
<p>USC
UCLA
Marymount Manhattan
Muhlenberg
Montclair State
James Madison
University of Colorado, Boulder
Indiana University of Bloomington
American University</p>
<p>I really would love to get out of California and see what else the world has to offer. I am though a very fast paced, exuberant, non-stop type of person and really feels needs to be in a city. KatMT how is the surrounding city to your University, James Madison University? Also, does anyone have any insight info on the city Muhlenberg is located at? I am not going to be able to view some of these universities that are located in rather far distanced States and would appreciate any additional personal insight in these programs and universities.</p>
<p>Oh one last thing. In case some of these schools do not go to unifieds, which I think a lot of these schools don’t, does anyone know about recording your audition pieces and mailing in a taped audition allowed for acceptance instead of a in person audition?</p>
<p>Hi AwaitingEV… I am going to see if I can get a student to contact you to answer some of your questions about the surrounding city, etc… There are a few who used to post here when they were looking for programs. If they aren’t able to post here I will PM you for an email address. I have to run to a rehearsal now, but will PM you to answer some questions tomorrow :)</p>
<p>The program at JMU has been around since the mid/late 1990s (still young-ish), but we went through a pretty significant curriculum revision 3 years ago, and are getting ready to move into a new performing arts center fall of 2010, so there has been lots of exciting activity lately. </p>
<p>RE: post 11 – I would contact the schools directly. Some will post the requirements for DVD/ Video audition on the website, others will not. At JMU we will accept a DVD audition if people are not able to make it to campus because of distance, conflicts, or illness. We will send the requirements to students who contact us.</p>
<p>AwaitingEv, if you don’t get answers here on this thread about Allentown, Pa, where Muhlenberg is located, you might want to ask your question in the Muhlenberg subforum, which you will find a link to at the top of the MT forum homepage.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t be surprised if people tell you that Allentown might fall short of the big city excitement you are looking for. On the other hand, from all I’ve heard, Muhlenberg seems to be a wonderful institution where most students are very, very happy. </p>
<p>It might not be all that easy to find many schools that meet your requirements, so I would hesitate to strike Muhlenberg from your list because of the “big city” criterion…</p>
<p>I’m glad to see that you are now investigating Montclair. My son has a number of friends there who love it. </p>
<p>The MT program at Montclair is an auditioned BFA program, but the school also offers a BA in Theatre Studies that I believe is quite good (maybe you could ask questions about it in the Montclair MT subforum). The Montclair Theatre Studies BA does not require an audition, but it does require an “interview.” From the website:</p>
<p>“During the interview we will be assessing your experience, interest, communication skills. You will participate in a brief group audition, and will be asked to complete a writing sample to give us a sense of your written communication skills. In addition, we will give you an overview of the program and answer any questions you may have. A memorized audition piece is NOT required for the Theatre Studies interview.”</p>