<p>Does anyone have a list of schools that offer a minor in MT?</p>
<p>Take a look at the Big List of MT Schools BY PROGRAM TYPE. You should be able to skim through it pretty easily to find them.</p>
<p>To offer a true triple threat program usually takes a lot of credits, so there aren’t very many.</p>
<p>UCLA does- they do not allow their MT BA students to minor in another area, but they offer a minor in MT to students of other majors- if that makes sense-</p>
<p>Here are the ones that I found on the “Big List” -</p>
<p>University of Southern California
U Arts
University of Tulsa
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus
SUNY College at Cortland
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Marymount Manhattan College
Sweet Briar College
West Virginia Wesleyan College
Santa Clara University
Northeastern University
California State University-Northridge
Ferrum College
Southern Oregon University
Loyola University Chicago
Emmanuel College</p>
<p>Berklee is also listed, but I can’t find any info on an MT minor on their website. There may be some others that are also not correct, I didn’t check all of them.</p>
<p>Berklee’s info is at: [BERKLEE</a> | Minors at Berklee: Drama](<a href=“http://www.berklee.edu/minors/drama.html]BERKLEE”>http://www.berklee.edu/minors/drama.html)</p>
<p>Don’t know if I’m allowed to do this! If a moderator removes it, go to Google and type in Berklee Musical theater and it will come up. It is under Berklee’s website (berklee.edu) backslash minors backslash drama dot html.</p>
<p>UArts’ MT minor is designed for BFA Acting, Dance and VP students who want exposure to MT training. The minor gets tailored to the particular major to provide exposure to the areas not covered by the major from among acting, voice and dance.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info everyone! </p>
<p>My D has had her heart set on majoring in musical theatre ever since the 6th grade, but the reality of the cost of the programs and the amount of potential debt she could come out with is causing her to re-think the whole idea (she is going to be a senior in high school this fall). She realizes that the hurdles are not just getting into a BFA program, or having enough money to pay for college, but she is asking herself “What happens AFTER I get my BFA? Can I make a living at this and pay back any debt that I have?” So her plan B is to major in History and minor in Musical Theatre or Music(she wants to teach high school social studies/history and hopefully drama) hence my post here. She has been in a real funk the last few days mulling this over in her head trying to decide what to do and it breaks my heart that she feels she can’t follow her dreams mostly because of money!!! When she was 3 years old her favorite song was Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and she sang it over and over all day long. So I decided to take her to a local family-friendly production of the Wizard of Oz and during the show she leaned over to me and said “I’m going to be Dorothy on stage someday!” She did her first musical production at age 5 and hasn’t looked back since. We want to see her follow her dream of singing on Broadway but not to the extent that she is drowning in debt. There, enough of my complaining…but I’m sure there are many of you out there feeling the same way!</p>
<p>If she thinks she wants to teach, Ball State offers a theatre education degree that would pair nicely with the history/social studies. (At the end of the program, she would be certified to teach). There may be other schools wit this option. Has she also considered a BA program? Those tend to be wider in scope, allowing for more of the “traditional” liberal arts courses. Another thought would be to find a school with the academic chops she is interested in, and a very strong student theatre program. She could take voice lessons, possibly take dance either within the community or as a PE elective. There are many paths to performing and to learning. You have some time to think outside the box. I find it quite responsible of her to be thinking the financial ramifications of a crippling amount of college debt, regardless of major. Very mature young lady.</p>
<p>Will she have less debt with a History degree or do you expect it would be compensated by higher earning potential? Not every family on CC agrees with this, but we have limited our D’s schools based on cost. We eliminated several well-regarded schools in the top tier of MT (Syracuse, Ithaca, NYU, Emerson, Miami), and you know what? She is left with many other schools of excellent reputation. If your daughter is a good student she has the potential to earn scholarships whatever her major, and if you meet the criteria, your family will receive financial aid regardless of the school. Teaching usually requires a master’s degree, and has a limit on earnings potential, where acting does not. When you do what you love, you have a better chance of success. There are so many skills you learn when studying theater that are applicable to other careers, in and out of the arts. There are many posts to that effect (I am sure another parent will provide you with those links). It’s funny, I sometimes go back to read one of my first posts on CC that poses a very similar question to yours. It was a journey, but we now support our D’s decision to major in MT. </p>
<p>If your D wants to be a teacher, why not look for a school that has an Education degree program, with a specialization in theater education? There are programs I’ve seen like that while exploring Theater Department websites. You have to look carefully at the Theater Departments in addition to the Education departments.</p>
<p>I just looked at UNH, which is listed above. They have an Education degree, or within the Theater Department they offer both Secondary Education and Youth Drama degrees. She could probably minor in MT with either of those degree programs. </p>
<p>All is not lost! Do your research and report back to us what you find out. I am sure it will be helpful for many others too.</p>
<p>Also, here are a couple of links for earlier CC posts that may be helpful (if I did this right):</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/276869-theater-teacher-what-major.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/276869-theater-teacher-what-major.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/montclair-state-university-mt/1229966-colleges-musical-theater-minors.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/montclair-state-university-mt/1229966-colleges-musical-theater-minors.html</a></p>
<p>Mommamarino: I applaud your daughter for having the maturity to think about that as she goes forth. I’d offer a couple thoughts. One is that there is a thread at the top of the board that is all about what you say to people who criticize your having a child going into MT. There’s a number of good comments in there about the issue of what you can do with an MT degree that I think you’d find helpful. I found on the SUNY Frdonia MT website a nice article on what skill sets students with a performing arts background have, and how those skill sets are valuable to a business. So I’m not so sure that an MT degree is not marketable, should dreams of being on Broadway don’t pan out. Second, something I went to this past weekend confirmed my impression about how one can work in MT. I had the opportunity to go to a workshop where a Broadway star talked about his career path. He went to college for two years and then dropped out because as he said college wasn’t the right fit for him, he didn’t have the discipline needed. He was working as a broker, and saw a call out for Phantom a few years later. On a whim he decided to give it a shot, and got a call back. Then a few months later the same producers asked him to audition for the touring Les Mis show, he was cast, and now he’s been in the business for years (very successfully). His message: if you can find something you have passion for and would get satisfaction for outside of MT, then do it and work in local community theater as a side thing. But if you don’t have that, then go for it just understanding it’s a tough road. Good luck to you and your daughter; she sounds like a winner to me!</p>
<p>^ Agree with what others have said and will add a couple more thoughts:</p>
<p>When considering which schools are out of financial reach, be sure to consider what your actual cost will be. For some schools, it is in fact the “list price” that you will pay; but many schools, including some of the of the most expensive, become very affordable after academic /or talent scholarships, plus financial aid (if you qualify). </p>
<p>A BFA in MT is not synonymous with huge debt - I have 2 kids attending very affordable state schools - both are OOS but with generous scholarships. </p>
<p>Finally, in some other thread, I gave a detailed explanation of my CC handle, but suffice it to say, the motto for our kids has always been “Do What You Love”…</p>
<p>Here are some more threads that relate to “to major or not to major” (in MT):</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1325719-back-up-plans-cant-take-drama.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1325719-back-up-plans-cant-take-drama.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1326263-whats-ahead-after-college-graduation-mt-students.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1326263-whats-ahead-after-college-graduation-mt-students.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/547240-musical-theatre-minor-double-major.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/547240-musical-theatre-minor-double-major.html</a></p>
<p>Regarding a specific item mentioned above, our school district employs BFA grads as theatre teachers.</p>
<p>Let me know if you have any questions about the MT minor at USC!</p>
<p>Do you have to audition for most school’s MT minors?</p>
<p>Wisdomsomehow- What classes are you taking in the USC minor? Did you have trouble getting into the classes you wanted?</p>
<p>I’m actually not taking any classes for the MT minor this semester, as none work with my schedule, but here’s what I’ve taken so far:
Fall freshman year:
MUSC 400, it’s a history of the American musical class, especially as musicals pertain to social issues. It also fulfills USC’s diversity requirement, so you can kill two birds with one stone! I really enjoyed it.</p>
<p>Spring freshman year:
MPVA 301, First semester of private voice</p>
<p>Fall sophomore year:
MPKS 150a, Intro to Piano part I. You can choose two semesters of piano or guitar, or one semester of music theory. I didn’t want to buy/borrow a guitar, and I didn’t have enough units left to take music theory, so I chose piano. It’s a group class, pretty simple, I’m just incompetent
MPVA 301, Second semester of private voice</p>
<p>Spring sophomore year:
MPKS 150b, Intro to Piano part II.
THTR 184a, Jazz dance. You have to take one dance class, or movement. I know I’m a weak dancer, so I plan on taking as many dance classes as possible.
MPVA 301, Third (and final official) semester of private voice. I plan on continuing to study with my teacher, just not through USC.
MPVA 402, Musical Theatre Workshop
THTR 343, Musical Theatre Audition with John Rubinstein. Hands down my favorite class I’ve ever taken, John is a phenomenal teacher and knows so much. I grew a lot in his class, and am a much better performer for it. Also, he has some crazy cool stories to tell!</p>
<p>Those are all two-unit classes, except for MUSC 400 (four units), Musical Theatre Audition (3 units), and music theory (4 units), which I didn’t take. I still need to take three more semesters of Musical Theatre Workshop (for a total of four), though being in a school show reduces that count by one semester (only once). The minor is 27 units. For perspective, that’s half the units of the theater major, but only nine fewer units than the poly sci major—which is nine classes, while the MT minor is 12 classes. </p>
<p>Also—while I’m not officially in any classes for the minor this fall, I will be in Musical Theatre Experimentals, where we put on a show (it should be “Hair” this year!), and Modern Dance.</p>
<p>I had no trouble getting into the classes I wanted. All the MT classes are small, and mostly by departmental clearance, meaning you have to fill out a form to get permission to take the class. “D-clearance” is automatic if you’re in the minor, so the only hassle is a little bit of walking around. For an idea of class sizes, from largest to smallest:
MUSC 400: around 60, I’d say? The only lecture class of the minor
Dance classes: 20-50 people, depending on the discipline
Piano: 15-20 people
Musical Theatre Audition: 18-20 people (it’s a popular class, and doesn’t require D-clearance, but I know first-semester freshmen who have taken it)
Musical Theatre Workshop: 12-15 people
Individual instruction: 1 person. You can also take one semester of group voice and two of private voice, but I preferred having three of private voice—I feel like I grew so much more because of it!</p>
<p>Because the MT minor at USC is self-selecting, it’s a pretty small program, and it’s not hard to get the classes you want, which are designed for as many students as there are in the minor. </p>
<p>It’s harder to get into acting and directing classes with certain teachers than it is to get into any MT classes, as far as I know—and even then, the professors will often work with you to get you into the classes you want/need. USC is really good about getting people into the classes they need, at least in my experience. I’ve only heard one “horror story,” and that was an issue of transfer credits in the theater major applying/not applying, so not an applicable scenario for most incoming freshmen.</p>