I am a HS junior who is looking to double major in musical theatre and something more practical as a backup plan, most likely either physical therapy or pre-law studies. Are there any schools with good MT programs that offer the ability to double major (preferably in 4 years)?
I believe Arizona State allows double majors, but if you do not have AP credits you’ll probably have to take some courses at community college over the summer. NYU might be the same as well, and Viterbo allows it too. Several programs allow minors, but that would do little good in a field like physical therapy. Musical Theatre programs are usually intense, because there is so much training packed into one degree. It would be much easier to double major in physical therapy or pre-law and straight theatre, as BA’s in theatre arts are much more common. You could take voice and dance lessons on the side, and many colleges put on musicals and shows throughout the year.
Remember that you do not need a degree to pursue musical theatre, and that you can always go back to school. If you wanted you could go to school for musical theatre and then in five or ten years when you wanted a career change go back to school. Obviously this would take more time but if you wanted to be a lawyer you would have to go to law school, and there is no required Bachelors degree for law school (meaning you could potentially major in musical theatre and go to law school). Granted, since BFA's tend to have fewer gen-eds, you might have to take some courses at a community college, but it is very possible.
If you truly want to double major though I know there are more schools out there that allow it, it’s just a matter of doing your research.
Double majoring is often more doable in a BA rather than BFA program. As stated above, it can happen at some schools, but often requires additional classes. For example, my kid knows people who have pulled off a double major, but they have often dedicated summer/J terms to it rather than being available for summer stock or having vacations
You can double major at Western Michigan, but, since it is a BFA MT program, it will take you an additional year to fit in the extra hours unless you have: lots of AP credits or dual credits that are accepted and/or attend summer school (which will enable you to get in-state tuition if you attend both sessions in one summer and do a few other things). You will also have to take more than 15 hours per semester, which will increase your tuition costs. WMU does offer some courses online which you can take in the summer without being on campus, or during the regular year without having to attend class (which may help you fit the hours around your BFA schedule). It will also help if you can place out of introductory Music Theory. Finally, it also helps if you have had pretty extensive acting training and some piano, which will ease the burden a little in your first couple of years of acting and music theory classes.
I should also note that my d’s friends who are attempting this admit that it is pretty tough to pull off.