<p>My parents told me that if I wanted to pursue a career in theatre I would need to get a back up degree, which is understandable coming from a parent. I really like the idea of psychology. Would a double major in psych help with my theatre career or should I pursue it as a minor or double major/minor in something else? I really want to work in the professional world of theatre and possibly teach it </p>
<p>I’m a parent and I think that a theatre major on its own is a great training and education for many paths in life, but it’s always wonderful to learn about different things. WIthout an advanced degree, i find it hard to believe that a psychology major on its own will do anything much different for you in terms of employment after graduation, so IMO that’s not a reason to double major. Do it because it interests you. That’s my advice, but i’m not your parent… :-)</p>
<p>You may find this information about NYU Tisch Drama program of interest. Note that a student does not need to minor in Applied Theatre to take any of these courses (my daughter took two of them), but for at least the Theater Studies classes you do need to be in their BFA program I am pretty sure.</p>
<p><a href=“http://drama.tisch.nyu.edu/object/dr_minor.html”>http://drama.tisch.nyu.edu/object/dr_minor.html</a></p>
<p>My D is at NU and is a pysch major as well as a theatre major. However, it’s unusual to be a double major in theatre and another field and I agree with SDonCC–it’s not really necessary. My D is doing it because she loves learning about psychology, not because she thinks her job prospects will be greater if she majors in it. Frankly, job prospects for undergrad majors in any liberal arts fields are not great, or are equally what you make of them. A theatre major in fact is much more practical in many ways than a psych major if your goal is immediate employment on graduation. </p>
<p>If you really want to be practical, you could major in a field that is known for high placement on graduation-- computers, math, finance, etc, and then take theatre classes and go to theatre programs in the summer. But then you’d lose focus of the theatre major and sort of defeat its purpose. However, that’s a path some do take. </p>
<p>If your parents are worried about jobs I’d leave grad school/professional school open as a possibility. For instance, say you want to leave med school as a possibility. You’d take the courses needed as an undergrad - Physics, Organic Chem etc - but major in theatre. Not saying you want to be a doctor. But just as an example. Same for law school. Or any grad school.</p>
<p>If you want to teach theatre, that would require an MFA but that’s a long way away and you don’t necessarily have to major in undergrad theatre for it either, although that would help.</p>
<p>Also, many BFA programs are really too intensive for you to consider any other field but their field of studies. You can’t minor in another field much less double major in many BFA programs, so if studying another academic field is something you want to do, you are talking about BA programs more than BFA, although some BFA programs like Tisch have options for additional academic studies. Just know all this when you apply, going in.</p>
<p>I have a BS in Psychology, and really to do anything career wise you need at least a Masters, if not a PhD/PsyD. That is a huge undertaking, and I would not think an easy backup to a theatre degree. I second all Connections already shared. </p>
<p>Okay so do any of you know any other fields that could tie well into theatre, or would you recommended me to get as much experience I can in different fields of theatre? </p>
<p>If you don’t have the passion and love for the theater then I would suggest majoring in something else and then doing theater on the side. This is not an easy career choice and needs to be pursued wholeheartedly. JMHO</p>
<p>I do have the passion for theatre as a career I’ve done this since 8th grade and it’s something I love, I just don’t know what I want to do. And the double major isn’t my choice it’s my parents, but if I explain to them about how hard doing that and a bfa would be they would probably understand </p>
<p>My daughter is majoring in theater only, but will be doing all aspects of theater besides acting (which is her love) she will do some stage managing, teching, costuming etc. If your parents will allow you to just major in theater you can get a lot of experience behind the scenes that could help in between acting jobs. Good luck :)</p>
<p>Where does she go to school?</p>
<p>Drew University in NJ right outside NYC. She wanted a BA instead of a BFA and wanted to be close to the city for networking and auditioning purposes. She begins this fall.</p>