The programs do vary greatly between schools but a BA is an academic degree and a BFA is a fine arts degree. You can have an academic degree and add on a huge amount of performance and training and you can have a fine arts degree and add on a lot of academics. But the degree programs are different. Within a single school that offers both degrees the BFA students will get preference over the BA students for advanced arts coursework because it’s part of their major. Generally a BFA is more of an immersion program in “the arts” and a BA is a more traditional college experience although I know there are some exceptions to that.
I do think there are many paths to success but the paths are different and provide very different college experiences. That’s true between schools as well as between degrees.
With regard to BA vs BFA, make sure you track the number of credits in the major for each program at the schools you’re interested in. For example, my daughter is in a BA program that is only 4 credits less than Elon’s BFA.
@Debolution - I heard lots of calls went out but I’m not sure they have all been made either …interestingly received academic acceptance thurs - I think we’ll be getting a letter soon with the artistic decision but the best we can hope for is a WL without a phone call …
@mauidad We visited IWU and it was absolutely incredible. Program is considered “up and coming” or a “hidden gem”. It is highly selective with top notch facilities and staff. Scott Susong has an incredible connection with his MT students, and their acting and music is strong. The academics there are incredible and the town is nice. I have no doubt my D will thrive there if she chooses it. It is pricey!
TCU did not blow us away. I do think they are good, but nothing felt like home to my D.
Ah the BA or BFA options. There is certainly no correct answer: this is a classic question with pros and cons. I will share my thoughts on the strongest point about a BA and the strongest point about a BFA, to keep this from getting too long.
The super clear pro for a BA is the quality and diversity of general ed courses available to develop you as an actor and as a person. Some BA programs still offer a deep selection of performance based courses, and some offer less. Take a look a the course offerings. Accents? Stage combat? Alexander technique? The BA offers you more flexibility to craft your academic coursework to use your credits toward something else, a minor/double major, etc.
The strongest advantage of a BFA is a four-year graduated curriculum with a dedicated cohort/studio/ensemble. So, second year Voice and second year Acting and second year Movement are all building upon first year content. One could not drop in. That’s why even transfer students start as first years. Everyone is at the same level. I can elaborate but hopefully that distinction helps. So although some BAs have a large number of performance courses, generally, they are stand alone courses. Someone may correct me on that!
A BFA within a large university, like BU, NYU, Syracuse, USC, would come closest to having both a graduated curriculum plus academic diversity.
I always advise friends or folks that you can supplement with whatever you are missing. A BA student can take a Summer Conservatory (if cost is viable). A conservatory student can take a Gen Ed in foreign language or accounting or education etc.
@4angels thanks for the info. We are planning to visit both next month. IWU came through with huge scholarship. Do you know anything about the strength of their dance classes?
Thank you! I, like everyone else, would love a list. What I find difficult is also differentiating between acting vs. MT. So in your example, is CCM on your list for acting or MT? (My son was accepted for acting, and while I know their MT program is tops, I’m having difficulty finding concrete info on their acceptance rate for acting. Would appreciate any help. Thanks!
D’s letter from Western Connecticut State University came snail mail today. “…you have been placed high on our waitlist (for BFA MT)… our goal is to offer you a spot no later than May 2nd…” - or we hope you come as a Performance major (BA) anyway.
Some good affirmation, but May 2nd may not be soon enough. We’ll see - she hasn’t visited their campus yet, so if she does perhaps it will change her mind.
Anyone’s Temple portal say the Portal is still not complete because they are waiting for the audition portion? S auditioned Feb 9 and he has reached out to them (after waiting 3 weeks) and they told him it was normal for there to be no date in the audition space. Thanks!
@mauidad my S considered IWU heavily in his final decision. They also offered the highest scholarship $ of all his offers. The school is small but frankly felt larger to us. Facilities/campus are in very good shape, again it’s a 200 person Procenium. They are a supportive program, looking to bring students on board who they know they have something to offer; they do not compare applicants, make offers for type or build a class in the sense that is implied otherwise here. IWU also has a strong music program so that supports the MT students. Auditions were a full day, we met and ate with MT students from every year - S could definitely see himself there - saw the entire campus and the arts dorm. The student production was excellent, you could distinguish that talent levels ranged, either from experience or the hidden gem factor. The school isn’t an hour or so from Chicago, Indianapolis, or St. Louis, so it’s remote. U of IL is right there and IWU students avail themselves of the big school activities as they want. Otherwise, might explore having a car.
Open auditions, No freshman auditions, student productions only if Advisor agrees. Summer opportunities: will only recommend/refer students who are ready. Senior showcase in Chicago (and LA? In my notes).
LAC 1/3 BFA 2/3 92 majors total - “theater training is enhanced with well-rounded students”. They also have a May term, when MT students can do a brief study abroad, as they admitted it is difficult for MT majors to make happen.
MS: Small play, large MT, large play, large MT or dance annually, guest or faculty directed
BB: 4-5 /yr guest, faculty or student directed
The school itself has a deep connection to State Farm Insurance whose headquarters are nearby. I mention this, if you google IWU, apparently they’ve announced $1.1m in cuts to shore up the university’s long term financial health (that this isn’t an emergency measure). How this may affect the PArts goals, is a question that folks will need to ask. If my S were there now, I wouldn’t be overly concerned, as many of the MT programs are at schools with smaller endowments.
@actingmama I’m curious about the same thing as well regarding CCM. Everything we’ve seen and read sounds great, and I believe selection is amongst the most highly competitive for acting, probably somewhere around or less than 3% acceptance rate. If anyone could weigh in on CCM Acting, that would be great and appreciated.
@actingmama If you are talking about the list I posted, the majority of programs are MT; however, Julliard, UNCSA, SUNY Purchase, BU/Rutgers are all non MT (Acting or Drama instead).
Also some of the schools have a great deal of intergration between the Acting major and the MT major - examples of that would be Syracuse, Carnegie, Miami, Otterbein, and possibly Arizona and Ithaca. That means that the MTs and As take the same basic acting curriculum, at least for the first 2 years. Carnegie kids take the same acting curriculum all 4 years!
The majors in some programs act independently of each other, and CCM is a good example of this. The Acting majors have separate faculty, classes, and course progression. I believe Michigam is another example of this.
Official ranking lists always get people upset (understandably), but I think the ones done by OnStage Blog are the most “holistic”. You can google them and the words “top Acting programs”.
@jbrown have your kid, and even you, ask as many students, and even teachers, as possible, the following 2 questions. What do you like best about being here and what do you like least. Ask anyone within a few feet of you. The more answers you get, the better. Have a competition of who can get more answers. It’s a great and easy way to get insights into the culture of the school.
@mauidad I can confirm some of the positives about IWU. My D has 4 yesses so far (waiting for 6 decisions) and is strongly considering IWU.
She has 2 friends in their BFA Acting program and they love it. We also have a coach with deep knowledge of HS/college/professional MT - her son just graduated BFA MT from IWU last year and has booked 2 great shows since. They post a lot on FB with student and grad bookings, so check that out.
We visited 11 campuses and IWU’s team was easily the most supportive and warm. We especially loved that current BFAs took us to lunch to do Q&A while we ate. (Some schools really leave you hanging.) Students also made the rounds where parents were waiting and answered questions. D said her audition was really pleasant.
IWU is in Bloomington/Normal, which is about 2.5 - 3 hours from Chicago by car. Easy Amtrak trip too. Illinois State U (not U of I) is also in town, so though it’s not a campus town, it sure feels like there are a lot of college students there. IWU’s campus is pretty and its academic standards are high, which appeals to me. They are definitely expensive, but gave my D a really big talent scholarship and some academic merit aid too, putting it in a range we can afford.
I’ve heard from a few people that they are getting a lot more selective so my D was thrilled to be accepted.
@jbrown I always ask to make sure we can see the theatre department facilities, which isn’t usually on the normal campus tours. We also have asked to meet with faculty and/or current students whenever possible.
@JJMmom S just checked his Temple portal & he said it says the same for him as well. He has called a couple of times & they say they have everything they need. Not sure what the hold up is…