Hi! I’m the mom of a current freshman BFA MT at the University of Miami. My daughter LOVES the program and I would be happy to answer any questions!
My son is a sophomore BFA MT. I assume most questions will start to appear after offers are sent. Spring Break is this coming week, and last year offers went out on 3/22. My guess is that offers will go out some time during the week after Spring Break (3/18-3/22).
From what I have heard, last year 30 offers were sent and 22 accepted. That was a much higher than usual acceptance rate, a positive sign that the program is being recognized for their quality. The program aims for a class size of 14-16. The assumption is that the program will send out fewer offers than were sent last year.
Just to give some more perspective on class size, this year there are 14 seniors, 9 juniors, 16 sophomores, and 22 freshman. During the four year program there is usually some attrition, mostly during the first two years of the program.
Hello!
Can you speak on the quality of training in voice, dancing and acting in the MT BFA program?
Also what pros and cons you are aware of?
Thank you!
I can only speak from my son’s perspective as a sophomore in the program. He is very happy with his decision to attend Miami. But different programs fit different needs.
My son’s strength is voice, so he really wanted a program that would strengthen his acting while giving him a solid foundation in dance while continuing to strengthen his vocal training. Had he wanted a stronger emphasis in dance, he would have gone to one of the other schools he was offered, which is known nationally for its strength in dance.
Acting is the core of the Miami program. Seven semesters of Singing for the Stage, what other programs might call MT Style, works on song delivery through acting. The dance classes even have an acting focus.
The program’s strengths include four years of private vocal lessons and four years of acting. Miami also includes three years of Voice & Speech and two years of Movement with an optional third year that certifies the student in stage combat.
Dance is required all four years. Classes meet twice each week. I would say it is not as intensive as dance would be at a school that emphasizes dance, but it exactly fits the needs of my son. Some students who want more dance do opt to attend dance studios off campus. If dance is a priority, Miami may not be the best fit. If you’re looking for a balanced program, however, then Miami is a good choice.
The University of Miami appears to be a rising star when looking at the more recent listings of musical theater programs, which granted should always be taken with a grain of salt.
The only other potential cons are personal choices regarding campus life, climate, and cost. If the student does not like warm often humid weather, it may not be the best choice. I would definitely recommend visiting at least once during the warmer months of the school year. Miami’s campus is gorgeous with about 10,000 undergrads. A private university, it is definitely not cheap, but scholarships often help ease the blow.
New student housing is being built on campus with Phase I scheduled to be ready Fall 2020 for upper classmen sophomore and higher. The freshman dorms will be in phases of demolition and replacement 2020-2024 so just know there will be ongoing construction.
I generally concur with what UMiamiMTDad said, but would like to add that the Miami program does a really good job with tap dance. Judy Ann Bassing is the tap instructor and she is excellent, according to my D who is a junior in the program. There is a studio nearby where college students can drop in for $7 a class. It’s walkable or bikeable from campus. My D has been taking ballet classes there when she can squeeze them into her schedule. The vocal training is really good. Students get weekly private voice lessons in addition to the twice weekly group classes.
The other strength of the program is that starting their sophomore year, every BFA student is cast in a show each semester, either on the main stage in the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre or a studio show. I have heard from parents at other schools with students not getting as many performance opportunities as they had hoped to have.
Freshmen do not perform the first year in the department productions, but their unit workload is front loaded at 20 uniits for those two semesters. They also work in technical aspects, front of the house, and back stage that first year. The freshman year provides them that essential foundation needed before they start auditioning and gives students that first year to get grounded in college life without the added pressure of nightly rehearsals.
@mtboymama, My daughter had a wonderful experience her first semester at the University of Miami. She is thriving, growing, training and developing in ways she’s dreamed about for years. She loves the kids in her program and has learned more about MT is the past 4 months than in the previous 18 years combined. It’s thrilling to witness!
Even though freshman aren’t allowed to perform on the main stage (because they want the kids to focus on their training and adjusting to college life), she was cast in several incredible performing opportunities including a student run MT production, a cabaret show, 5 student short films (including a horror film!) and she was cast as a lead in the workshop of a new musical! Finally, she and her roommate also formed their own songwriting team. All in all, she had quite an amazing experience!
I’m constantly impressed with the quality of the training she’s receiving. She has truly professional, supportive and caring instructors! She loves and admires all of them! This summer several professors are taking the kids to Italy for a 3 week MT intensive!! It’s going to be an amazing experience!
I have never seen her happier. She is living the life I always dreamed she could and I’m so excited to see what the future holds.
Thank you, everyone! The details and descriptions of University of Miami’s MT program have been very helpful. It sounds like there are some very positive aspects of the program! Good to know. 
My son was accepted today into MT at Miami. Presidential scholarship of 10000 per year. We were hoping for a larger amount. Any advice.
Good luck to the rest of you!!!
I am not an expert but there are merit scholarships, of which I believe the President’s Scholarship is one, and needs based scholarships. To be considered for needs based, both the FAFSA and the CSS profile need to be filed. What I don’t know is if those scholarship decisions occur at a different time. I know that we had all our scholarship info for Miami by the time we visited the school in early April.
Congratulations on your son’s acceptance!
I got my acceptance around 4:30pm in Central Florida. $23,000 presidential scholarship and several other grants.
I got my acceptance today at 4:30 in Texas. By the way everyone, I kept looking in the application status but it only says complete. You have to go to the MESSAGE CENTER. They send you an email hours later.
Congratulations @squidfish0222 and @tdash4504
There are a few parents of current students lurking here. My S is completing his sophomore year.
Congrats @squidfish0222 and @tdash4504
My daughter freshman is a BFA MT. She’s had a wonderful experience. She is thriving, growing, training and developing in ways she’s dreamed about for years. She loves the kids in her program and has learned more about MT is the past 4 months than in the previous 18 years combined. It’s thrilling to witness!
Even though freshman aren’t allowed to perform on the main stage, my daughter was cast in several incredible performing opportunities including a student run MT production, 6 student short films (including a horror film!) and two workshops of new musicals (she was even cast as a lead in one of them)! Finally, she and her roommate also formed their own songwriting team. All in all, she had quite an amazing year!
I am hoping you can help me with a question. My daughter is a senior and submitted her common app application and prescreen to the University of Miami. She was given an audition date on campus on Feb 14,2020. Will she hear if she was accepted to Miami before the audition. I hate to make airfare and travel arrangements to Miami without knowing she is at least accepted to the university! I appreciate any insight you have. Thanks
Hi CASAMom. My son is a junior BFA MT major. As I recall, you will not hear anything about acceptance until the major sends offers sometime mid to late March. A few schools do send academic acceptances ahead of artistic acceptances, but most will not send anything until they know the artistic audition results. UMiami included.
BUT, there are two sides to that coin. My son likely would not have been accepted academically to UMiami based on his GPA and test scores, but he got into the university on the merits of his artistic audition. Again, this varies by school. Michigan would not even see him for an audition. Carnegie Melon and Miami did.
Lastly, Miami usually attends at least one or two of the Unified Auditions, so I recommend looking into that. The Unifieds avoids having the fly all over the country for multiple audition locations and dates. The year my son auditioned, he went to Unifieds in NY and LA (we live in California), and only had to fly to one school directly for audition. If Miami is going to be at Unifieds and it is easier for your daughter to audition there, contact the department to see if you can reschedule the audition to one of the Unifieds.
Allow me to add a couple more points. After our son was accepted we visited the University during his high school senior spring break. We specifically asked the the head of the MT program about the academics at Miami and whether our son would be okay. He said that he does not accept anyone into the program that he believes is unable to handle the academic rigors of the university, and he only got it wrong twice.
The one area where high school GPA and test scores (mostly GPA) does help, however, it on the merit scholarships. We would have been happier if we could have received additional financial aid, but that was tied to high school academic performance. Of course, you won’t know exactly what those awards will be unless an offer is extended.
If you have any other questions, there are several of us here happy to help, and the department is also there, of course, to answer questions.