I know there have been a number of these out there, but I’m excited to see the fledgling program at Manhattan School of Music showing up in this company:)
I know it is one of many lists but I’m happy S school made it. It does make me think D’s list is very top heavy!
Backstage just came out with their list for this year. The usual tier 1’s are on here, but some other good info. https://www.backstage.com/backstage-guides/10-best-colleges-study-musical-theater/?utm_campaign=backstage-daily&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=57172970
@MTmama17 thanks for sharing that article. I think most of us are wary of these “best” lists. As the college audition coach and the advisor say in the article, the “best” is the the school with the best fit for your kid. So many reputable programs are not on the list. But it is always interesting to see what is “trending” and I enjoyed reading about each programs. I learned a lot!
Interesting that NYU-Tisch is not in the top 10.
Exactly, @Notmath1. My D created a well-researched list of reputable, high quality programs (along with one true safety and one with a higher chance of acceptance with auditioning) that we believed were “top” and among the “best”—and only one is on that list of ten.
I take these lists with a large grain of salt!
@NewJeffCT - NYU is on the companion list for acting. For schools with well regarded programs in both acting and MT, IT is interesting (to me) to see where things shake out in regards to programs
@toowonderful Can you share that link to the acting list?
@Notmath1 -It’s at the bottom of the other list 
https://www.backstage.com/backstage-guides/25-acting-colleges-you-need-know/
I think it’s interesting that they did 25 acting colleges - allows for a larger range. “Top 10” always seems a little restrictive to me, but no one is asking me to publish a list
And if dance is your strength, there are lots of other schools with strong MT programs on their list of top dance schoolst:
https://www.backstage.com/backstage-guides/10-dance-college-programs-should-know/
If dance is a strength, I would encourage you to consider auditioning for some dance programs like OCU and Point Park. They both have a lot of grads working on Broadway. At OCU, dance performance majors do get some training in voice and acting although dance is certainly their primary focus. I’m sure like MT, each program’s curriculum varies so really study what classes are included to make sure you will receive the training you desire.
Interesting that 8 schools are on both lists. In anything so subjective as trying to evaluate an arts education I’m surprised there wasn’t more variation beyond the big 3.
The 8 schools on both lists:
UMich
CCM
Carnegie Mellon
Baldwin Wallace
Penn State
Ithaca
Elon
Texas State
Another point of interest is for organizations that do list on a yearly basis, like the onstage blog, is to go back and look at list from year to year and see which schools consistently remain on the board, And which are relative newcomers
@NewJeffCT and @Notmath1 NYU Tisch for Acting is #3 on this list:
And #2 on this list:
These lists can make you crazy! LOL
@jbtcat - both lists you posted are for BFA acting, rather than MT- which as I mentioned, can make a difference school to school. For example - you will almost certainly find CCM and Michigan on any best MT list, but not necessarily on a best acting list
@toowonderful I know! I was offering supporting documentation to your response to @NewJeffCT about NYU being on the companion list for acting. LOL.
@MTDadandProud, it actually does not surprise me that those 7 are on both Top 10 lists plus TSU as honorable mention on one list because the same 7 schools on both lists are also on the list below which is Top 10 musical theatre programs based on successful Alumni within the last 10 years since graduation. This article ranked the top Musical Theatre programs solely based on how many successful alumni there have been within the past 10 years of graduating (since 2006), looking specifically at their musical theatre graduates on Broadway, National/International Tours, TV, and Film. NYU, Florida State and BOCO round out this list of top 10 along with Baldwin Wallace, CCM, CMU, Elon, Ithaca, U Mich and Penn State which were all on the previous 2 lists.
@jbtcat and @toowonderful – to make it more confusing the hollywood reporter list for top 25 acting schools is for MFA (not BFA). They did top 5 BFA - here is that link if anyone is interested. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/5-best-undergrad-drama-schools-an-acting-degree-1007389
NYU is still on it - but it is a different list for BFA than the top 25 MFA schools.
After several years I have kind of started ignoring these lists. They are very skewed and often have lots of mistakes (assigning alumni from one school to another, saying a school is BFA when it is BA; assigning a school a top spot because the author of said list attends there; etc). The on stage list for acting this year is super ODD. Glad to see some underdogs listed - but still a very odd list.
As stated above - the top school for each student is the best fit for that student. Nobody outside of the theatre world would ever guess some of these colleges even have a performing arts school much less a top one. Take these lists with a grain of salt.
NYU Tisch is probably only on the list for acting, because the MT concentration is still under the Acting degree program. The degree conferred by the school is the same whether or not you did an acting or MT studio. I’m sure that some schools have different degrees for acting and MT and that is why they are listed separately.
For NYU Steinhardt, D received a BM in vocal performance. It does not distinguish on her diploma between MT or classical tracks. Obviously my D makes that distinction on her resume though.