<p>Everyone knows that nothing is guareented in this feild we have chose to go into, so as BFA are very much a crapshoot I was wondering if anyone knew of any good schools with BA programs in musical theater ( either audition or non.) Thank you in advance.</p>
<p>Go to the big list (under FAQ link), which gives a key for non-audition programs and also lists if the school is BA, BFA, BM, etc. I recommend that you look in your geographical area for safety schools.</p>
<p>Faq link doesn't list Pace and according to their web site, they offer a BFA in musical theatre. They are also not listed on this site. Is there a reason?</p>
<p>I a not sure why it is not listed, but Dr John has been maintining the Big List. If it is brought to his attention, he can add it to the list.
One of my D's friends is going there this year as a freshman, although I am not sure what she is studying. I will try to see if she knows anything about the MT program and could share it with CC.</p>
<p>Pace just recently got their BFA in MT approved, I believe. That may be why it wasn't listed. I know as of last Fall, 2005, it was still in the final stages of approval. It's supposed to have a really wonderful department chair who is very knowledgeable and connected to the theatre community. Back when we looked into it, you had to take a subway to go to dance classes at Broadway Dance Center, go somewhere else for voice lessons and it was also too late to get a dorm right on the main campus. She would have had to go over the bridge from Brooklyn (although it wasn't far, at all). For us, it just didn't work at the time, especially since the BFA hadn't yet been approved. Looking back, If she had gone there, I'm sure it would have been fine since she was taking buses into NYC from NJ for vocal, acting and sometimes dance anyway. It would have been a reverse commute from Brooklyn! I would definitely check out the program.</p>
<p>Hey there-- if you are interested in a great BA theatre program, Rhode Island College is a place to seriously consider. They offer a major in musical theatre and well as general theatre studies. The program is evolving still, but has really gotten an excellent reputation in the performing arts since the new chair, Bill Wilson, took over the theatre department. Actually, I had my first musical theatre performance class tonight and every week we are assigned a different composer to bring in, each student performs, and then they are critiqued. It's like an audition skills class. Mr Wilson received his BFA from Western Michigan and has a great reputation as a choreographer and director. I saw his production of Sweet Charity at Rhode Island College and believe me it was AMAZING! It was just as good as a couple shows I've seen at BFA schools. Although they only do 1 main stage musical a year, they do alot of growing stage and straight shows directed by the co-chair of the theatre dept, Dr. Jaime Taylor, who has a PhD in theatre. However, they are in the process of trying to develop smaller musicals for fall performances, so that may be something that will happen in the future. They also give ALOT of scholarship money to incoming freshman who audition for their Special Talent Award. My friend who's a English major with a minor in theatre got $1,000. Theatre majors tend to get more. There's the Forman scholarship, which I received, which is $4,000 a year for 4 years (which is about 90% of the cost for people paying in-state tuition.) I strongly suggest either seeing a show there, or talking to some students. I'd be happy to answer any questions!</p>
<p>The theatre performance program at OCU still requires you to take voice lessons and dance, and is currently a BA. They're moving towards a BFA for next year, though, but I don't know if that will be replacing the BA or just in addition to it (which I think is what's going on).</p>
<p>University of Tulsa is supposed to be good. I've read some good things about the school itself, but I've heard no specifics on what makes their MT program good. It still may be worth checking out.</p>
<p>DefyingGravity,
While I can mention some BA schools both by audition and non audition, there are MANY factors in creating a list that fits YOU. You can look into these but must examine their curriculum, your own college criteria, your academic profile, and the selectivity. Further, while BA by audition schools are a GREAT way to balance your BFA list, please remember that ANY audition based school is clearly NOT a safety because of the audition component. Some BA by audition schools may not be as competitive as the BFA programs but there is still that audition component. So, you may want some BA schools with NO audition to round out your list. Perhaps you can have BFAs, BA by audition and BA with no audition. I'll make a few suggestions, with MT in mind, not counting the straight theater options. </p>
<p>Some ideas to peruse for BA BY AUDITION (some have optional audition as noted):</p>
<p>SUNY Geneseo BA MT, BA Theater
Muhlenberg College BA Theater (Performance), Minor in Dance or Vocal Performance(optional audition)
American University BA MT, BA Theater Performance
Wagner College BA Theater Performance with MT emphasis
University of Southern Maine BA MT (aud.), BA Theater (no aud.)
James Madison University BA MT, BA Theater (optional aud.)
University of New Hampshire (UNH) BA Theater (concentration in Acting or MT) (optional aud.)
University of Alabama BA MT Track, BA Theater</p>
<p>BA in MT - NO Audition:</p>
<p>Santa Clara University BA Theater Arts, Dance Minor, Interdisciplinary Major/Minor in MT
McDaniel College BA MT
Indiana University BA with an Individualized Major Program in MT *Possibly adding a BFA in near future
Cal State Chico BA MT, BA Theater Arts, Minors in Theater Arts or MT Dance
Susquehanna University: BA Theater with a MT emphasis</p>
<p>Those are some to get you started. Now read about them and see which match what YOU are looking for and your credentials, etc.</p>
<p>Acethebass, The BIG LIST on the FAQ link was created by Shauna and has since been updated by DoctorJohn. </p>
<p>As far as the list of programs that have a sub forum at the top of the MT Forum, that is just a selected list of 30 BFA in MT programs. However, the MT Forum has threads on many other BFA and BA in MT programs, just not their own subforums. </p>
<p>Re: Pace: It offers a BFA in Theater with a Music Theater Concentration, and has a Senior Showcase. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>Pace is actually going to have a BFA in Musical Theater starting this year. I don't know much about it as their website just says program description coming soon. But I know at one time someone from Pace did leave a note on this forum. Maybe she will post again to let everyone know about their new program.</p>
<p>Yes, you are correct. Soozievt information is outdated.</p>
<p>Kaysmom, thank you. I had not checked on Pace in a few months. A few months ago, it was a BFA in Theater with a Music Theater Concentration. As you say, they have now made it into a BFA in MT, a bit of a change from the previous set up. Their website, as you noted, is not yet offering any information about the newer version of this degree program. Now, the BFA in Theater site no longer describes the MT Concentration, as it did not too long ago.</p>
<p>add Chapman; BA (and BFA) Theatre, BY AUDITION</p>
<p>Chapman is one of several schools that has a BA by audition (other examples....Emerson, Fordham, Pepperdine, San Francisco State). Conn College has a BA in Theater with an optional audition and many MT opportunities on campus. These are great to point out. My list in an earlier post to Defying Gravity, just to clarify, was only related to MT, not regular theater, since that is what she was asking about. I left out the BA in Theatre by audition and non-audition (of which there are many of the latter) for this reason.</p>
<p>Updated info...</p>
<p>James Madison University now DOES require an audition for admission to the Musical Theatre Concentration BA. The audition for the Theatre Concentration is optional. The BA is an intensive BA... 58 of the 120 credits needed for a BA as in Theatre, Music, and Dance.Go to the school website for more info.</p>
<p>Also, no one mentioned Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. A very strong auditioned BA program. I have had the opportunity to work with students from Plymouth State professionally. They are very strong! It is a small program, only admitting 8 - 12 freshman in Musical Theatre each year. Lots of individual attention and performance opportunities. I think I heard from one of the students that this past year every student who auditioned for summer stock work got a job.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if Pace requires an audition? I took a tour of the school in Februaury and actually thought it was really cool. The website doesn't say much of anything yet about the BFA for Musical Theatre and it doesn't say you need to audition for their BFA in Theatre so I assume they don't but I was wondering if anyone had more info on the subject.</p>
<p>Welcome Kat. Thank you so much for the update that JMU has recently changed the BFA for MT admissions to include a required audition whereas it was optional up until now. I had not visited their site in a couple of months and had not seen this recent update and I am grateful for this alert as I have a student who has this school on her list. </p>
<p>Also, I'm glad that you are pointing out Plymouth State here. It is good for folks to learn about some of the BA in MT options as there are not that many out there. This degree makes sense for certain students' needs and interests. Schools like U of Southern Maine or UNH are not talked about much here either.</p>
<p>Thanks for the welcome. It is so interesting to read all of the posts here. I was a BFA MT about student 15 years ago... back then there were only about 6 schools to choose from! Now there are so many options for students. I agree that there is a different progam that is the best fit for each student. You just have to know where to look. </p>
<p>FYI - JMU is actually an intensive BA program. They also offer a BM degree in Music Theatre through the music school for students with a joint interest in Opera Performance.</p>
<p>i am new to this forum. How do I access this "list" eveyone is talking about? I am looking for BA programs in musical theater for my daughter who is passionate about musical theater. However, she is a very good student and wants to have a "backup" if her dreams of Broadway don't work out!</p>
<p>Look a few topics up called IMPORTANT: FACT LINK That will take you to a thread where you just click on the Programs.</p>