<p>I’m a dad of a CMU MT sophomore - here’s the scoop. Freshman MTs take three non-MT classes. One semester they take Interpretation and Argument (an English class). The other semester they take Critical Histories of the Arts. One of the two semesters they take Computing at Carnegie Mellon (a basic computer class which gets into Word, Excel, etc). </p>
<p>The MT classes freshmen take are Acting, Speech, Voice/Alexander, Movement, Ballet, Music Skills, Foundations of Drama, Conservatory Hour, Production Symposium (I think that’s the name they use for when they are on crew for a production), Voice Lab, and private voice lessons.</p>
<p>Sophomores take the next level of most of the same classes and add in jazz and tap, as well as MT Lit and Rep, Acting a Song, and Make-up. Sophomores take one non-drama elective. That’s the last of the few non-MT classes they take.</p>
<p>Juniors and Seniors take classes like Cabaret, History of Drama, MT Scenes, Business of Acting, Acting for the Camera, Broadway Styles, etc. They continue taking the core Acting, Speech, Voice, and Movement classes as well as Ballet, Jazz and Tap. Private voice lessons go all four years.</p>
<p>I cross-posted with kedstuff and amtc. In reply, it is true the CMU MTs do not take many non-MT classes. But pretty much nothing that they take is lightweight. It is an extremely intense and rigorous program. If you want a broad liberal arts education, look elsewhere. If you want a superb MT-specific education, but one that gives you many opportunities to “cross-pollinate”, CMU is a wonderful option.</p>
<p>At Boston Conservatory, my kid takes one gen ed class each semester. Here’s her junior year list of classes: theatre history, acting, ballet, voice and speech, musical theater (ensemble singing), jazz (dance), the arts and neuroscience (lib arts-ish class), tap, directing, and voice lessons. She dances every day, gets a lot of homework, and writes a lot of papers, which I found surprising.</p>
<p>Not to belabor the point but I think xatty’s missing the History of Drama sequence that follows the Foundations classes at CMU. I’m putting this up for folks who are concerned that CMU has its MTs and Actors shielded from its wider academic offerings. What were until recently Drama school History of Drama topics will henceforth be met from lists of eligible classes taught in humanities and social sciences. S is graduating in spring but we read all of the communiques regarding these changes that came from the faculty last spring. The university may have made the curriculum decisions in order to broaden the MT and actor experience…I don’t know. But I can say that the material was conveyed in a very positive way by the Drama faculty. All that said, CMU is NOT a liberal arts approach to study in any sense. The BFA students are very focused and while it would be hard to fit these energetic and intellectual kids into my concept of a “trade school” they are well on their way (most of them from the outset) to joining the profession of actors. So, they are interested in learning things that advance those interests. In my son’s case, that has included more about psychology, historical periods, music…not much more about science and math, somewhat to our parental dismay!</p>
<p>What is often overlooked at schools that are characterized as “conservatory” or “conservatory style” is that within the department there are mandated courses in the curriculum that would be considered liberal arts classes in the context of offerings within a different department. Theater or Musical Theater History (it’s history, cultural studies, music history), Script Analysis (you read a ton of plays i.e dramatic literature and discuss and write about them) are examples. The departmental curriculum is not all studio work although, of course, the studio work is the mainstay of the program. Then, there are many BFA schools such that are considered conservatory or conservatory style, even schools that are arts colleges and universities such as BOCO and UArts, where students take a number of of courses outside of the department, at times as many as 8-11. So, as everyone is suggesting, look closely at the posted curriculum for each program. Don’t rely on “labels”, you won’t get the full picture.</p>
<p>I believe CMU Acting majors take seven courses outside the fine arts department in their four years. MT majors don’t have the same opportunity due to major requirements. Seven courses is enough to pick up a minor or pick and choose a little bit of this…a little bit of that. That’s a nice option considering it is a conservatory.</p>