Quality "Cheaper" MT Programs at Public Colleges

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

If I could suggest musical theatre (MT) programs at public colleges and universities which are comparatively less expensive and comparatively less selective to the elite MT schools, but which would still give students an excellent foundation to “make it” as a musical theatre performer, I would suggest these public schools found below.

I have tried to keep the list short. You may have schools that you would add to the list, and if so, that’s fine. Just be sure that they are

  1. public schools,
  2. have a full MT program [BFA, BA, and BM],
  3. are relatively less expensive in comparison with elite MT programs,
  4. are comparatively less selective in comparison with elite MT programs,
  5. and offer a high quality MT education which prepares students for performance careers with a proven record of alumni success - meaning that they have alumni performing professionally, although not necessarily on Broadway.

The last criterion is the most subjective of the criteria listed, and I leave it to you to determine whether your suggestions fit this criterion. I tried my best to research these schools to determine if they fit this criterion. I endeavored to find programs from a variety of states, which have schools with MT programs that fit these criteria.

Programs with an asterisk are widely recognized as very good MT schools that fit this category.

ALABAMA

U Alabama at Birmingham BFA
U Montevallo BFA

CALIFORNIA

U California Irvine BFA

Colorado

U Northern Colorado BA*

FLORIDA

U Central Florida BFA

GEORGIA

Valdosta State U BFA

ILLINOIS

Southern Illinois U, Carbondale BFA
Western Illinois U BFA

INDIANA

Ball State University*

KANSAS

Wichita State U BFA

KENTUCKY

Northern Kentucky U BFA
Western Kentucky U BFA

MICHIGAN

Central Michigan U BFA
Western Michigan U BFA*

MINNESOTA

Minnesota State U - Mankato BFA

MISSOURI

Missouri State U BFA*
Southeast Missouri State U BFA

NEW JERSEY

Montclair State U BFA*

NEW YORK

SUNY Buffalo BFA

NORTH CAROLINA

Western Carolina U BFA*

OHIO

Kent State U BFA
Wright State U BFA*

SOUTH CAROLINA

Coastal Carolina U BFA*

TENNESSEE

U Memphis BFA

TEXAS

Sam Houston State U BFA
Texas State U BFA*

UTAH

Southern Utah U BFA

VIRGINIA

James Madison U BA/BM*

WASHINGTON

Central Washington U BFA

WEST VIRGINIA

West Virginia U BFA

WISCONSIN

U Wisconsin-Milwaukee BFA
U Wisconsin-Stevens Point BFA*

Additional Thoughts

If you are talented and fortunate enough to get accepted at an elite MT school, and you can afford the cost, and won’t graduate with monstrous debt, then I say go for it. However, just remember this, graduating from a top tier MT program doesn’t mean you can write your own ticket to Broadway stardom. The statistical likelihood that you will be able to make a living as an Equity performer is incredibly small. The likelihood of your make a living as an Equity performer is definitely enhanced by going to an elite MT school, but there is still no guarantee. And if you graduate from an elite MT program with crushing debt and don’t succeed as a performer, you will have a difficult time paying off that debt with a specialized performance degree.

Here’s what one commenter wrote on Broadwayworld.com:

“It is worth candidly considering the amount of debt you will take on while in school. Six months after you are out, you have to start paying that back. Unless your folks are loaded or willing to take that on for you, you may end up working full time in non-theatre just to pay that debt. Be practical - can you afford the debt? A full time job - if necessary to pay for your self - makes it really hard to audition freely – something worth thinking about. I specifically mention this for those who are moving to NYC - it’s very expensive just to live here leaving aside any debt. Most of the schools recommended are private.”

Therefore, it behooves you to consider schools like those found above which will give you a quality musical theatre education without breaking the bank. Usually, all things being equal, a state school is cheaper than a private school. And the public school within your own state is usually the most cost effective way to receive a college education of any kind.

For example, if you live in Missouri and you were blessed enough to be accepted at both Missouri State University and Webster University, you should seriously consider whether the debt you will accrue graduating from Webster University over Missouri State is worth it. That’s not meant to be a put down on Webster University. Webster is a fine school with great industry connections, including the St. Louis Muny. I’m just saying that you have to look at your return on investment and soberly consider if Webster’s relative advantages over Missouri State outweigh its relative disadvantages. After all, Missouri State University has good industry connections, a professional summer theatre, and is right beside the “Live Music Capital of the World”, Branson, MO.

For example, although not a graduate of Missouri State University, Janet Ulrich Brooks, a working Chicago based Equity actor who graduated from the University of Central Missouri, with a BFA degree in theater in 1979, spent 10 years entertaining in Branson at Silver Dollar City. “Brooks knows what other actors sometimes forget: such gigs should carry no shame. ‘I loved working there,’ she says, ‘I love entertaining and making people happy.’ “

If you live in Illinois, the same logic found above would apply to Illinois Wesleyan and Western Illinois. Illinois Wesleyan is a fine school for MT, but so is Western Illinois and for a lot less money.

In Ohio, Baldwin-Wallace University is top flight, but Wright State University is pretty good too.

In Tennessee, Belmont University is great, but the University of Memphis isn’t shabby.

In Wisconsin, Viterbo University is mighty keen, but the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point is definitely worth a look. I could go on, but hopefully you get the point (no pun intended).

It should be noted that some state schools are among the elite MT schools and are also fairly expensive, at least for out-of-state students. Schools like the University of Michigan, Syracuse University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Cincinnati fit this category.

By the way, don’t assume that the programs found above are a shoo-in for a student to get into. They are not. Many of these audition programs are quite competitive (Ball State University, Texas State University, Missouri State University), but not quite as competitive as the elite MT programs (Michigan, Cincinnati, Carnegie-Mellon, Ithaca, etc.).

A few of the schools found below are non-audition schools, but that doesn’t imply that they aren’t high quality MT programs. In such non-audition entry programs you often have to audition as a student (see UC-Irvine) and/or pass juries to maintain your status in the program (see Southeast Missouri State University).

Some of the schools listed are safety schools for students who have been taking voice and dance lessons since they were in elementary school. These schools found above are rarely the first choice of high caliber MT students, but some of them are at least on their radar screens. That should say something about how these schools are perceived by the MT “community” - and many of them also have senior showcases in which their students perform for industry professionals.

2

@sunsetweekend, this is one of the most helpful posts I’ve read on CC. Thank you for the research!

3

Just a note: Syracuse University is a private school.

4

My bad. Thanks for the clarification soozievt. Yes, Syracuse University is a private institution.

When I put down Syracuse University as public, I was thinking of Cornell University which has a rather unique arrangement (see below).

“Cornell University is a peculiar university in that it is considered a private university, yet happens to be comprised of seven undergraduate colleges, some of which are land grant/state funded colleges. Some will argue that those colleges are SUNY institutions, . . . [and therefore] those colleges are public,”

I was thinking of New York colleges and I made a mistake and got Syracuse and Cornell mixed up, with respect to this status.

And to claire74, thank you for your kind words.

5

I absolutely agree that student debt is not helpful to young actors, but it is important to know that some well-endowed Private schools will ultimately be MUCH cheaper than any state school for some students with financial need. For example, I know several kids at Northwestern who had almost full rides. So don’t assume your local State school is always your cheapest option.

This will actually probably still be true if you DO succeed as an MT, since even most Equity contracts do not constitute what in other professions would be considered big bucks.

6

University of Central Missouri has a BFA in MT. They are graduating their first class this year. We have visited and were very impressed with the faculty, curriculum and facilities. It’s on my D’s list.

7

University of Washington offers a new BA in MT. I’m not sure if it meets your criteria for either expense or ease of admission.

8

This is good info. For us unfortunately we don’t have any state schools that offer MT as a BA of BFA. However we qualify for academic common market for West Virginia Univ and Coastal Carolina & Montclair gives in state tuition for MT anyway. Fortunately Wright State is not hugely expensive for OOS. I don’t think Kent State is either. JMU is a bit pricier for OOS if I remember . Nonetheless i would be thrilled for my D to go to any of the above mentioned! All have great programs. We will have to apply at a lot of private schools that are known for lots of school aid too. Oh and I’ve heard good things about Plymouth State too.

9

Great post. However, I would put Texas State in the “elite” category with regard to competitiveness and not include it on this list. I know of several students who have turned down “elite” schools (like Carnegie Mellon) to attend, it is certainly “on the radar” of many/all well-qualified MT applicants, and I believe that they receive in the neighborhood of 1,000+ prescreen submittals and admit 12 students. It is very difficult to even pass the prescreen. UT Arlington would be closer to the criteria that it seems are used for this list.

10

To MomCares, great points. Your financial situation can “unlock” good aid, particularly if you are from a home of modest means. Northwestern is particularly generous with their aid, but many private schools are not so generous, as they have plenty of applicants who are willing to do whatever it takes (including going deeply in debt) to go to a so called “brand name” school. And I might point out that you first have to get into Northwestern, which is no mean feat for any student. Nevertheless, your points are well taken.

Your last point about debt and the lack of “big bucks” for an Equity contract only further reinforces my point. Even, if you grab the brass ring of an Equity contract, you aren’t making a lot in comparison to other professions. Which is all the more reason to be careful about debt when you go into this field. As I said, if you can get into an elite MT program and then graduate from that program with modest debt, then go for it. But if you are going to go deeply in debt for an MT education at an expensive, elite MT school, you might want to at least consider some of these schools as back-ups.

Each person has to decide for themselves what that figure of “modest debt” is, but a good rule of thumb for that amount is what the average graduate in your field makes their first year out of college. A waiter makes about $20,000 a year and considering that many first year musical theatre grads will be waiting tables when they get out, I would advise keeping your loan debt to $20,000.

11

Just to throw a clinker in things…the University my daughter attends is private and cost us less money than a public one…her stats gave her big scholarships that made it more lucrative in the long run…so don’t rule out the small privates…

12

To build on the post from @bisouu, I went back and looked at my college cost spreadsheet and even though she received the top out-of-state academic scholarship to Western Michigan (the school she is attending), the following private schools would have been less expensive (great academic scholarship offers): Webster, Viterbo, Illinois Wesleyan, and Tampa. Viterbo would have been $10,000 per year less!

Overall, the following private schools with MT programs listed at the top of this forum come in at less than $30,000 per year with average non-need based Merit Aid (which is very competitive with OOS tuition for many states):

Viterbo
Millikin
Baldwin-Wallace
Otterbein
Shenandoah
Point Park

As noted for my daughter, some of these and other schools, like Webster and Illinois Wesleyan, can end up costing less (maybe far less) than OOS tuition at a public school if you have good grades and test scores (my d had good, but not overwhelming, grades and scores). It is, however, very difficult to beat in-state tuition at a public school.

See this thread for the complete average Merit Aid cost list:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1745140-which-schools-give-the-best-merit-aid-another-freakonomics-post-p1.html

13

Helpful thread, @EmsDad, once again. I encourage every family to have a yardstick and for us it was our local state university COA – which for us was UCLA or UCI, both of which offered a MT program. We told our kids that was what we were willing to spend. In the end, like @bisouu and @EmsDad experienced, their private schools (and a few others they were accepted to) came in a little under that yardstick once merit aid was factored in. (Initially, we thought we’d be under state school pricing for total 4-years of attendance, but I suspect if I sat down and did the accounting, factoring in annual tuition hikes, annual increases in housing, and add-ins like headshots, cross-country travel, and audition trips, I think we’re just slightly over. But definitely comparable.

14

What is an “elite” school? Any program for any major is more about the available training and working hard to take advantage of ALL opportunities. You also missed the University of Utah which has in state tuition after a year making it very affordable. We have also found them to be generous with talent scholarships for hard working students.

15

“What is an ‘elite’ school” is a very subjective question @walker1194. I suspect that if you asked every person on the forum (or in the industry for that matter) the answers would show HUGE variations. And in the end- the only opinion that matters about any school is the one of the person who is attending - and perhaps the parents who are paying

16

^^^ However, people like to get a feel for how the MT audition process works and there are certainly some programs that draw very large pools of very-well-qualified auditioners from across the nation, generating extremely low odds of admission within a very competitive admissions process. This includes, of course, schools like those named as “elite” in the OP.

However you choose to label those schools, and whatever criteria you wish to apply in order to so designate them, I think it helps people who read this forum to get a feel for the “Most Difficult” and “Very Difficult” programs for admission, as well as those programs that are “More Difficult” or possibly “Less Difficult,” even though there is certainly lots of room to argue about whether this or that program deserves some particular distinction. Characterizing and labeling the MT admission process for specific programs is very difficult, of course, because it is a very subjective process and it is very difficult to obtain data with which to qualify the admissions process for individual schools. I do appreciate well-meaning posts with some substantial research and thought behind them that try to help inform people about various aspects of the process.

I certainly see that point that using terms like “elite” to qualify the difficulty of the admissions process at a particular school or set of schools, is probably not the best choice of words, as the connotation conveys a characterization of the quality of the program in addition to the the competitiveness of the admissions process (and thereby opens “a whole ‘nother can o’ worms” as we say here in Texas).Hence, the use of phrases like, “Most Difficult” and “Very Difficult” by websites like CollegeData.

Every year I wince when I read posts about zero acceptances from lists that included all or almost all of the “Most-Difficult-Very-Difficult-Elite-Whatever-You-Want-To-Call-Them Schools” and I think almost any information would have been helpful for those readers.

Just my two cents.

17

I’ll throw another wrench in there w/ the private vs public match up … Nebraska Wesleyan ended up being less expensive (w/ D’s merit scholarship) than in state tuition at Ball State, Indiana University and Southern Illinois University.

(And - Vanderbilt University ended up being less expensive than Indiana University - even w/ IUs top scholarship - for our older daughter. Just food for thought.)

18

This is a helpful list because it could start one thinking about less expensive places. When D developed her list of schools, we thought in terms of financial safeties, matches, and reaches, not just artistic and academic, so we did consider initial cost and also chances of scholarship money. This list could help people with that. But, my D is among those at an expensive private school for less than public schools to which she was accepted (even with scholarships at those public schools), and this would’ve also been the case at a another expensive private school to which she was accepted and given large scholarships. Both schools were considered financial reaches by us.

I cringed when the OP put in the bit about “less selective” and put asterisks next to some schools, not because he/she attempted to categorize schools (knowing which ones tend to fall where in terms of selectivity is helpful), but because there is some debate in where some of the schools were placed. It’s not as definite as it was presented. I cringed again when he/she stated, “These schools found above are rarely the first choice of high caliber MT students, but some of them are at least on their radar screens.” To stand behind that statement, one would have to know and form an opinion about every student auditioning for all schools.

19

Thank you @sunsetweekend for this valuable list. Of course every list on this forum is somewhat subjective - most of us on the forum are not professional researchers or data collectors - but lists like these give newcomers a place to start. The MT “target” changes year-to year, and the target is different for each individual. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.

I’m glad you have Wright State on this list - it IS a bargain. And with good merit scholarship (very generous) and perhaps added talent scholarship it can be free for in-staters and almost free for OOS). Yes, the school as a whole is not particularly selective academically, but I came across an recent article that sheds a little light on its MT selectivity. This article is mostly about the history of the department and its founder, but one particular quote may be of interest here, reflecting the change at some point from a non-audition school to an audition school: “Currently, students must audition as prospective incoming freshmen to get into the theatre program. Of the 450 aspiring students from around the nation who auditioned this year, only 8 percent were accepted.”
http://webapp2.wright.edu/web1/newsroom/2015/10/08/curtain-call/

While these stats may not be equal to @EmsDad’s “Most-Difficult-Very-Difficult-Elite-Whatever-You-Want-To-Call-Them Schools” (can we use that as the official designation?), getting into WSU’s MT/Acting BFA is not a walk in the park. Definitely a bargain, however.

20

I agree there is a lot of value in a list like the one in the OP. But there is also a lot of strongly worded opinion there, and while we are all entitled to our thoughts and feelings - I would be concerned about a “newbie” looking at that post and not recognizing that this is ONE person’s view of MT selectivity etc