Hi, Parent of a rising senior intending to apply to Syracuse. We are in the beginning stages of research. He intends to major in Film and from what I have read, Newhouse would be the way to go (if he is accepted) due to networking prospects/job placement after college. However I also think he would like the VPA/Film major. So my question is, can you apply to both? How does that work? I think VPA requires his portfolio but Newhouse does not? Thanks for the help!
There are a lot of dual majors at Syracuse, and some official dual degree programs. Based on a cursory search, there appear to be none between Newhouse and VPA.
I looked at the requirements for the Film major through VPA, which is a BFA, and compared that with the Television Radio & Film major through Newhouse, which is a BS.
I know nothing about these fields, but it strikes me as odd that there is literally no overlap between the required courses, despite the fact that some of the courses seem pretty similar in topic.
Like, there’s overlap between the required and elective courses for related majors between other colleges, e.g., Chemistry (Maxwell) vs Chemical Engineering (ECS). But again, Film is not my wheelhouse, so I don’t know if that’s actually odd or not.
It seems like the two programs (and perhaps the colleges) are siloed. I don’t know if that’s accurate or if there’s any history to that. I think your student would have a hard time completing the requirements for both degrees in a timely fashion. It would be a dual degree, which is typically more onerous than a dual major.
Your kid could email reps within both VPA and Newhouse to ask if anyone ever does this. Would be curious to hear if they say the same thing or not. He can’t be the only one with the same question.
It looks like single majors in Newhouse can take a max of 42 Newhouse credits out of the 122 credits required for graduation. They also need a minor. They’re required to take 61 credits from Arts & Sciences (Maxwell), and the minor can fill those. That leaves 19 credits for free electives. The Film/VPA major requirements only leave 21 elective credits in whatever college. I don’t know how much double-dipping would be allowed between the degree programs, even if doing a dual degree in these two schools is permitted.
My D23 applied to Syracuse last year for film television. My recollection is that you can apply to both because on Syracuse’s application you can list backup majors. She only applied to Newhouse because the summer previously she took a pre-college film class there which was through VPA. She found it too artsy and preferred the Hollywood/commercial fous of Newhouse. Newhouse does not require a portfolio.
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