<p>I am applying to Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, Duke, and Rice. I am interested in taking MT classes even if these schools don’t have MT majors. Are there MT classes at any of these schools? How do they compare to others?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>kadams, go to each schools websites and go to their course catalog. You should probably start in the theater section. You could also look at the top of this page at the Big List, it will tell you if these schools have this as a major and how selective the program is.</p>
<p>Out of your list, the schools that probably would have the best theatre opportunities would be Yale, Brown and Princeton.</p>
<p>But you would need to dig deeply to see what courses are offered. I doubt any of them would offer MT courses, but you never know. </p>
<p>If Northwestern and/or Vassar would appeal to you, you should look at what those schools have to offer too, if only for comparison’s sake.</p>
<p>Ok I will look at them. I actually visited Pricneton, so I have the course catalog from this school year. I will look at it and look at the Yale and Brown website. I am looking at Northwestern, I just knew they have a musical theatre major so I didn’t ask about it. Vassar I did not know about having an MT program.</p>
<p>A lot of schools offer some theatre courses, but not necessarily MT courses. Sometimes the classes are less performance-based and more about the history and literature of theatre. You would have to check and see if what you are interested in is available at any given school, at the undergraduate level. There are some, like Princeton, that have excellent extracurricular theatre.</p>
<p>Vassar does not have a MT program. But it is one of the schools that is always mentioned as a good place to go if you are interested in theatre within the context of a top notch liberal education.</p>
<p>If you have a strong interest in MT it would be good for you to check out the “big list” as srw suggested. I’m not sure to what extent you are going to find MT training at any schools other than the ones on that list. You might have to give up your intention of attending a “prestigious” institution if musical theatre means a great deal to you.</p>
<p>Many kids with an interest in MT end up attending programs where they mostly work on their acting, while continuing to study voice and dance on the side.</p>
<p>kadams, I am glad you are doing a little research. I wanted to tell you that many Broadway “stars” do not have a degree in MT. Get a hold of some playbills and look at the bios. Many of the performers put where they were educated and in what field - they are all over the place. I am sure the ones who did not study MT in college took voice, acting and dance outside of college or maybe some courses as electives. Talent is talent.</p>
<p>kadams, </p>
<p>What is your goal – what do you want to get out of college (aka “what do you want to do when you grow up?”). Are you choosing “name” schools for a particular reason (they have the program you want to major in, there’s a specific faculty member you wish to study with, you plan to go to grad school, your family expects it?) Do you feel that you need/would get more academic stimulation than at another school? I definitely agree with srw, that talent is talent, and a college degree in musical theatre is not the only path to the stage (if that’s what you want). Are you looking to continue training because you truly enjoy musical theatre, and want to keep working on your craft, or with an eye to being on stage professionally? </p>
<p>Hope that’s not too many questions thrown at you! I just know we went through a somewhat similar process as my kiddo was deciding on how to approach the college application process. As a high-stats kid, she’s chosen to apply and audition for some schools that aren’t necessarily known as academic powerhouses, but which do have the focus she would want as an MT major, as well as academic honors programs. </p>
<p>Would love to see some of the fruits of your research, as you find out what these schools offer in terms of training for MT (or maybe an excellent voice teacher, a dance company at the school, etc). Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>At this point I am looking at musical theatre simply because I love it and want to develop my abilities. I have no plans to be on stage professionally, I just would like to continue MT into college. I would love a life in the theatre, but I just don’t think I could earn a living that way, so I am going with something as a major that I could more likely find a job in and earn a living, even if I don’t enjoy it as much. I think that is my plan, but I am so indecisive I just don’t know what I will end up majoring in. I am looking at NYU’s MT program right now too. I am considering applying there and if I did I would probably audition for MT and then try to double major if possible in MT and either Math or Science. Unfortunately, I don’t know when the auditions are, and I definitely wouldn’t be able to fly to New York for an audition.</p>
<p>Any suggestions?</p>
<p>how about UCLA?</p>
<p>kadams - Rice does not have an MT program/classes. Houston does have the wonderful Theatre Under the Stars which offers many great classes. My D has taken classes there and it is great training. So if you are interested in Rice you may want to check out TUTS as well for additional training/performance opportunities:
[Theatre</a> Under The Stars](<a href=“Houston Musical Theatre | Theatre Under the Stars | TUTS”>http://www.tuts.com/)</p>
<p>I would check not only the courses offered at the schools you’re interested in, but what the performance opportunities are. Most schools of the caliber you’re talking about , do not offer MT classes, but will have musicals as an EC (student run, which can be quite good, and some department productions – alot of the theatre depts will put on musicals every other year, I found). I would also look at dance and voice classes offered through the dance and music departments. </p>
<p>Wash U in St. Louis is a school on par with those you’re looking at, and it does offer classes in musical theater in its drama department.</p>
<p>Ok I will check them out. I am looking at Wash U and I didn’t include them in the list because I already had found info about them.</p>
<p>What did you find out about the MT program or opportunities at Wash U? I feel we are looking for very much the same things!</p>
<p>I haven’t had time to check yet, I just got back from 9 hours of wet tech rehearsal! Our show opens next week. We are doing Curtains. It’s my first show and I am Bobby Pepper! I will let you know what I find out though.</p>
<p>kadams0914, though it is not viewed as selective or “prestigious” as the schools you have listed, if you have a desire to obtain strong acting and MT training in a solid quality academic environment, you may want to look at Muhlenberg. It is a small LAC in Allentown PA that has a real split personality. In years past, it had more of a regional reputation which is now more national in scope. The academics are excellent and historically, the school has been known as a breeding ground for successful med school students. It also has full blown performing arts programs in theater, voice and dance that attract students who would be competitive at audition based BFA programs but who desire to have a broader liberal arts focus to their education. The theater complex is a modern, excellent facility, the theater department regularly stages both musicals and straight dramas and the school runs a professional MT summer stock company that provides additional performing and internship opportunities for students. I am hard-pressed to think of a school that offers a more complete blend of academics and MT in a non-audition BA environment. If you have the academic credentials to be competitive at the schools you have listed, then Muhlenberg is a clear option that offers you the opportunity to double major in sciences and theater performance with an MT emphasis and have a very full educational experience in both.</p>
<p>You would likely be offered merit aid at Muhlenberg.</p>
<p>Brandeis also has MT courses.</p>
<p>My D is looking for the same sort of thing in a college. Strong MT and voice performance options, but strong academics as well. She ruled out NYU and CMU because friends there say that it is very difficult to double major. Really they are more conservatory programs within a larger university. Not alot of opportunities if you are outside of the major, and not a lot of opportunities outside of the major if you are in it. CMU does have a double major option, but you would probably need to do summer classes to meet all of the grad requirements for both majors. Other schools on her list, some of which may be more safeties for high stat kids, are GW, Brandeis and Wesleyan.</p>
<p>Sometime in the last couple of years there was a student who was getting a MT and engineering degree. It was going to take 5 years but I can’t remember what school he was going to - I think it may have been Northwestern. It is a rare thing to be able to double major in MT because of the time commitment, but it can be done, if you can find a school which allows for it.</p>
<p>There is a current Sophomore at the University of Michigan with a double major of MT and Engineering. I do believe he has a five year plan to finish both, but knew this from the beginning.</p>
<p>my tour guide at Northwestern was a double major theatre or MT (I don’t remember which) and engineering.</p>
<p>I’m currently majoring in theatre and double minoring in film and MT at USC. :)</p>