<p>I disagree that a student who wants to major in theatre should be encouraged to minor in theatre and major in something else. In my experience students graduating with theatre majors have been able to secure work inside or outside of their field of undergraduate study. Theatre involves critical thinking, history, writing, english, communication, management, public speaking, as well as technical and performance skills. </p>
<p>If a student would like to pursue a career in the performing arts/ entertainment industry why not major in it? </p>
<p>Even if a student changes their mind later the degree is an undergraduate degree. Graduates can pursue advanced training and education in other fields with the same ease of any liberal arts major graduate. </p>
<p>In my experience graduates with arts majors have not had more trouble securing jobs than their peers overall. Of course graduates with certain educational backgrounds and skills might have more immediate higher paying success (finance majors, CPA, certain STEM majors, etc…), but a student who has no affinity for those fields of study will not likely not be as successful in those areas.</p>
<p>Each family needs to make decisions based upon what is right for them and their children.</p>
<p>Oh, the ignorance of those who claim theater majors serve no use, go out and become ibankers or something “stable,” and then use that money to go buy first rate tickets to Broadway shows staffed by … You guessed it … Theater majors. Not to mention the very fine training theater provides for the eventual courtroom lawyer, or running the many children’s and local theater programs. People who think theater majors don’t have options are limited in their thinking.</p>
<p>I know a man who started out with theater training, and has gone on to be the most fabulous English teacher my kids’ high school has ever had. He is retiring this year, to the dismay of all. The principal of their school also comes from a theater background (although in my opinon it mostly serves him well in keeping his true thoughts to himself – I can never get a read on what the guy actually thinks, only what he WANTS to show). Anyway, theater majors do find their skills useful in other roles.</p>
<p>Yep. Your national college entrance exam scores not only determines which college one gets into, but also his/her major. You also end up taking the vast majority of your coursework in your major so in some ways…their system is more like what one here would experience in grad school. That aspect was taken from European Universities where they have similar practices(i.e. Britain, Germany, etc). </p>
<p>Also, reputation of the university and department are paramount in East Asian countries. In Japan, the most prestigious government bureaucracies and private corporations have a strong preference/will only hire University of Tokyo grads from the “School of Law”(It is really more like poli-sci mixed with some law). In Mainland China, I’ve heard that Tsinghua STEM/Econ graduates dominate the top leadership.</p>
<p>That’s a hard sell, hereabouts, where getting that first job out of college is the be-all and end-all of undergraduate education in the eyes of so many.</p>