<p>D has been invited to apply to the Honors Program and the Oikos Program at OCU. Anyone have any experience with either one of these programs? Are they even feasable with the probable time constaints on a MT/VP major? Thanks.</p>
<p>I know nothing about either. My D elected not to do the honors program, mainly due to laziness. LOL. Actually, she took many dual-credit classes in high school and didn’t have many gen eds left to take, so she opted not to do it. She DID take an honors psych class because that was all that would fit her schedule. I think it was more challenging than she wanted (although she did well in there) because it just wasn’t really her area of interest.</p>
<p>Thanks musicmom1215 for responding. I went back and looked at some older threads and I’m pretty sure it was Mikksmom who mentioned her D dropped out of the Honors Program due to schedule conflicts. Maybe she’ll chime in and elaborate some more?? 
</p>
<p>The Oikos scholars program is a Service Learning program. My D has been very involved with Service Learning projects since Middle School so this was appealing to her, plus the 2K a year was appealing to the bottom line. I’m just wondering if its feasable. D has to be accepted first, so this may all be premature anyway. If accepted, she may need to ask Dr Herendeen.</p>
<p>My D graduated with a BM in MT and a BM in VP and went thru the honors program at OCU. She did comment in her junior year that if she was starting over she would NOT do the Honors Program…mainly because it took extra time and that is just not something these kids have a lot of. She did get to participate in some very special projects because of the Honors Program like interviewing Kristen Chenowith for the 100th Anniversary Book that OCU produced for their Centennial. Her research, interview and article were part of her English Honors Class. Having said all of that, when she did graduate, she was very happy to have ‘made’ herself stick to it and it was personally gratifying. Make no mistake, though, none of that extra work means anything when trying to get cast in a show after graduation. So…</p>
<p>Finally here to chime in: Yes, my D was in the Honors program but only one semester. When she was MT, it was a schedule nightmare to fit in required Honors classes and dance. Now that she is VP, it might be easier but she said she did not feel that she needed the extra stress. She has a lot of credits from HS and AP so her gen eds are few to begin with. It was her choice not to go back into the program. </p>
<p>They do get some interesting opportunities however! I would have your D look at the program carefully and see if she feels she will have the time. They are all very busy at OCU!</p>
<p>Hello! I’m attempting to do the Honors program next year, and I haven’t tried to schedule them with my dance classes yet (since we don’t enroll in those until after placement) but so far it doesn’t look as though it will be too difficult. You only need 25 hours of credit in honors classes, and as of now I’m already taking 7 hours in just my first semester! (Music theory, aural skills, and intro to psych) </p>
<p>They also told us at enrollment about Honors Contracts, which were basically if you talked to the teacher of a regular class, they would most likely be able to give a little bit of extra work and then you would receive honors credit for the class. I know it’s going to be hard, but as of now participating in the honors program doesn’t seem impossible. I’ll keep everyone updated though on how difficult I find my first semester!</p>
<p>I’m going to be entering the Honors Program in addition to the Oikos Scholars program at OCU this coming fall. </p>
<p>Like kitkatt565 said, I’ve heard about doing Honors Contracts, and that really excites/soothes me about completing the work! You can’t get anywhere without a little hard work, right? :)</p>
<p>I’m a student at OCU, so I’ll be glad to answer any questions. </p>
<p>I am not in OIKOS or in the honors program, but I did look into the Honors Program. I also have a very good friend in OIKOS.</p>
<p>First, with OIKOS, because that’s the one I know less about. The thing with OIKOS is that it’s basically another class that you will have to take on Wednesday nights. As a music major, that basically limits you from getting jobs at churches singing in church choirs. Luckily, being a music major though, if you are to be cast in any shows in the musical theatre or opera department, rehearsals are not planned for wednesday nights as many, many students sing in church choirs. OIKOS does also require you to study abroad, I believe, but I also believe it can be done over the summer or something. I know two friends planning to study at the London Academy of Dramatic Arts to fufill that requirement. If you have any more questions, I’ll ask my friends as best I can. </p>
<p>Now, the Honors Program, there will be a little of my own opinion mixed in, but I will basically try to give a testimonial based on friends’ experiences. The Honors program is totally possible for any student at OCU, because you can basically take any class and do extra work to make an Honor credit. However, it gets a lot harder after about the fall of your sophomore year. It looks possible your freshmen year, but that’ll be the most honor credits you’ll get in one semester. After that, you kind of have to scrounge for more credits. 25 never seems like a large number until you have to get that many credit hours. This is all not to say not to do it, but it is one more thing that you will have to worry about. And at any college, you already worry about a lot. As a performer, if this is really something you want to pursue and not just do at college until you find what you really want to do, nobody in our business will look at if you graduated with honors or graduated cum laude. They won’t care, and you will be laughed at if you put it on your theatre resume. If you are looking to do any theatre jobs that are not talent based, like theatre administration, it could come in handy though. There are two sides to everything, but I do want to say that scheduling as a performing arts major can be a nightmare, and if you choose to do the honors program, you will have to take in the frustration that will come with.</p>
<p>I’ll be happy to answer anything else you guys have or want to keep discussing this one.</p>
<p>“and you will be laughed at if you put it on your theatre resume.”</p>
<p>I have to respectfully disagree with this comment. Someone MIGHT care…what it does tell the prospective director is that the person is intelligent and a hardworker…and those are two very important qualities that directors are looking for when deciding who to cast in their show. I’d rather have more info on my resume than not enough and if someone has managed to graduate summa, magna or cum laude, they ought to be proud of that and put it on their resume…maybe towards the bottom under honors/awards…</p>
<p>I would say that if you earned it, put it on. The form I am most accustomed to seeing would be attached to the degree under Education/Training: Ficticious University, Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, 2009. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t make a big deal of it, or list it under a separate category. LOL - and all I can say of the resume that I saw included someone’s IQ score - TMI ! ! !</p>
<p>I’ve attended many workshops with casting directors and even a couple of agents, and believe me, they don’t have the time to read it. An actor’s resume is incredibly different than a business resume. Believe me when I say that casting directors want less rather than more. The reason why is they only have a minute or so of time to look at you when you audition. They want to see your headshot, your top 4 or 5 theatre credits, and some of your training. That’s about all they have time for. And they read a resume like a newspaper, the more white, the better to read the black.</p>
<p>I’ve worked with casting directors and agents, and I agree that less is more - however, when you are starting out, I absolutely want to see a degree listed if you have one, and I don’t think adding “cum laude”, “magna cum laude”, or “summa cum laude” is overloading. </p>
<p>I think having tons of shows which may date back 5-10 years pads it much more, with little interest to those seeing the resume, particularly if they are hs or youth shows when you played roles which are obviously age-inappropriate for you.</p>
<p>I also think listing as training master classes with “names” pads the resume – unless the person will remember you, don’t list it. If I see a name I know on someone’s resume, there is absolutely a good chance I will call to ask about their interaction with you, and if the response is “Who??”, it’s not a positive thing.</p>
<p>Once you have Broadway or major regional credits, you may well drop the training totally, and that’s fine, but if you’re the typical early 20’s eager young thing, I think the degree is a valuable piece of information to show.</p>
<p>I agree with 2DsnMT and MusThCC. I don’t think adding ‘cum laude’ or ‘with honors’ after your degree would be “laughed at.” It might not get your foot in the door, but if it comes down to the final two or three candidates for a part, it would, as 2DsnMT said, let a director know that you are smart and a hard worker.</p>
<p>I’m confused. At OCU do Musical Theatre Majors go through Gen. Ed. classes or just musical theatre classes (voice, acting, theory, dance, etc.)?</p>
<p>There are gen ed classes required of ALL students. From this link you can click on the undergraduate catalogue to find out what they are: [Oklahoma</a> City University : Bass School of Music : Degree Programs](<a href=“http://www.okcu.edu/music/genreq.aspx]Oklahoma”>http://www.okcu.edu/music/genreq.aspx)</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>You’re welcome. Also, my D had taken a lot of dual-credit classes in high school through a local community college and all the credits transferred. She had taken 3 years of Spanish in high school and that satisfied the foreign language requirement. If you have the opportunity to get college credit in high school, by all means, do it!</p>