<p>Agreed! I mean I get the if you have something to fall back on, you will fall back on it school of thought but the advice from a TONY winner who did a workshop my daughter attended also included the suggestion that some marketable survival skills beyond waitressing were a very good idea. Very few will support themselves performing right out of school and only a fraction of those will have lifelong careers.</p>
<p>Off the top of my head, Harrison Ford was working as a carpenter before he got enough acting gigs to support himself as an actor. Kirstie Alley was an interior decorator and Masi Oka (Heroes) was a computer programmer after getting an engineering degree. Before Morgan Freeman began acting, he was in the air force. I think there are so many paths to starting out as an actor that no one school, one major, or one anything is a sure thing.</p>
<p>Just for fun, here’s an article on what several actors majored in before making it–and as you’d expect, none of these majored in Theatre. [Education</a> | Celebrity Actors & Their College Majors](<a href=“http://www.classesandcareers.com/education/2007/04/20/celebrity-actors-their-college-majors/]Education”>http://www.classesandcareers.com/education/2007/04/20/celebrity-actors-their-college-majors/)</p>
<p>Some schools do, but many strongly advise against it, and for good reason. A BFA Acting program is very intensive; it’s designed for those that want to focus strictly on performance. You will not have much free time as you will be either auditioning, performing, in class, or tech-ing shows. It is not impossible to double major, but would be extremely difficult and stressful with a BFA program. </p>
<pre><code> My theatre teacher always says “If you can see yourself doing anything other than acting, then do it.” Meaning, acting is such an unfair; tough; time-consuming career, if you can be happy with something else, do that. Perhaps if you want to be a professional actor you can minor in political science or take P.S. classes. If political science is what you like more, major in that and minor in theatre. Or, you could drop down to a BA in both and do your double major like that . That way, you 'd still get to act (not as much as a BFA, but still) and not be quite so overwhelmed. But, it’s up to you. IDK what you can handle.
</code></pre>
<p>I’m pretty sure I could handle the course work and everything.
I’m really busy in high school too, and I like it. I have six classes (norm is four), three APs the rest honors, winterguard, dance, and voice lessons. I would be busier, but do to the county losing our money, we don’t have a spring show. Last semester I did that on top of a lead in Noises Off.</p>
<p>Well, if you think you can do it then you should just do it if that’s what you really want. Still, if you know any people double-majoring in a BFA performance program and something else I would ask them what it’s like.</p>
<p>My D has a friend who is a BFA Acting major with a double major in Graphic Design. He isn’t doing it as a fall back. He really loves graphic design work and if he is going to take the classes, why not get that degree? It’s all about personal choice.</p>
<p>So the colleges that allow it are
NYU/Tisch
BU
James Madison
Is that it?</p>
<p>I know some colleges might technically “allow” a double major for an Acting BFA student, but the practical logistics will probably intrude. If you can claim sufficient AP/IB credits to cover some of the liberal arts requirements at a school, you might be able to skip them, and try to take all of your electives in another area, even if you are not officially “majoring.” Unfortunately, two conservatory-level arts majors would be tricky, because registration is usually limited to majors. You would have to consult directly with an adviser, or with department heads. Departments and faculties can be fiercely jealous and protective of their turf. </p>
<p>I would add Fordham-Lincoln Center to your list, if you have solid academic APs. They have stringent curricular requirements, but you might be able to place out of some.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone has agreed that you can double major at BU. I believe you can’t. </p>
<p>On past threads, people have said that they know people who have completed double majors at UMinn-Guthrie and I believe also at UMich. Some of the bigger state schools are more lenient with AP and other credit to cover gen eds, so I would guess it’s a tiny bit easier to double major.</p>
<p>But again, I’ll agree with people - adding up the numbers of classes and even the numbers of hours in the day isn’t the end of the question. There often are various kinds of permission and support that you need from faculty, department heads, deans, etc., and at some schools those hoops can be impossible to surmount. And it differs among various departments.</p>
<p>I think the only definite answers here are 1) You usually can double major when you do a BA, rather than a BFA; and 2) You have to talk to the schools themselves about your own particular plan - there is no list of schools where you definitely can double major with theatre, period.</p>
<p>Start with the schools you are interested in and then look into the double major. I don’t think it’ll work so well the other way around.</p>
<p>Both JMU and Fordham are BA programs that are professionally focused. This may be why it i a bit easier to double major. Although, depending on what the two majors are APs, etc… it still may take more than 4 years. </p>
<p>I do know people who have double majored at Tisch with CAS and graduated within four years. They both went in with a lot of AP credit, I believe.</p>
<p>With all schools auditioned BA or BFA I agree to check with the schools directly to see what is possible.</p>
<p>Boston University School of Theatre will let BFA students double major if they are Theatre Arts students, but not if they are Acting students. It takes five or six years to earn the dual degree.</p>
<p>[Dual</a> Degree College of Fine Arts | Boston University](<a href=“http://www.bu.edu/cfa/restore-20091211-002604/theatre/prospective/undergraduate/double/]Dual”>http://www.bu.edu/cfa/restore-20091211-002604/theatre/prospective/undergraduate/double/)</p>
<p>The quality of the acting training is the same for Theatre Arts students as for Acting students. Many choose the Theatre Arts track because of its much greater flexibility and breadth of focus.</p>
<p>I don’t know how financial aid works for a five or six year program.</p>
<p>If I pass all of my AP exams (likely) I’ll entire college as a second semester sophomore.</p>
<p>Thanks, NJTM - and also for pointing out that it can take quite a bit of extra time and expense.</p>
<p>ifoundalaska - that is really great that you might have a lot of AP credit. One thing I’ll tell you, though, is that different colleges require different scores to apply credit for APs. State schools often accept 3s, but private ones usually want 5s. Also, many private schools won’t actually let you become a sophomore, but they will let you place out of certain courses. So it is different everywhere, and again, you just have to ask each school how it does this.</p>
<p>I have all the faith in the world that you can do what it is that you want to do - I’m just trying to let you in on some of the messy details that people experience, depending on where they decide to go to college.</p>
<p>If you do a bit of searching, you can usually find the exact policy that a university follows regarding awarding credit for APs (or IB, transfer credit, etc). Different colleges within a university also have different requirements, so look carefully at the info.</p>
<p>For BU - here’s the link:
<a href=“http://www.bu.edu/admissions/files/2012/04/Advanced-Credit-Guide-11-12.pdf[/url]”>http://www.bu.edu/admissions/files/2012/04/Advanced-Credit-Guide-11-12.pdf</a></p>
<p>That’s 60 credits for me, if I pass everything with a four.</p>
<p>Yes - and a lot of colleges will allow you to skip over an introductory course using AP “credit” but it is not credit toward your degree. In other words, you will still have to attend the college for 8 semesters. This is particularly true of private LACs. Providence College, for example, used those very words - “you will be with us for 8 semesters, but you could be taking a lot more advanced classes.”</p>
<p>State universities will usually let you use the APs as actual credit, and you can indeed start college at a sophomore level. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>