<p>So, obviously many BA Acting/Drama/Theatre programs are non-audition, and they comprise less of the total curriculum than BFA programs at the same institution. So for someone like me with less experience, they will make a good fallback. Or at least, that’s what I’ve gathered from research.</p>
<p>How effective are BA programs at teaching the skills an actor needs for a career? SUNY Purchase’s website highlights the differences and basically says that BAs won’t necessarily prepare a student for a career in acting, but will form a foundation which other training can add to.</p>
<p>Because BFA programs are more immersive, is a BFA Acting program at any institution superior to a BA program at a school like SUNY Purchase or Michigan? Or is the reverse true?</p>
<p>You would get far more performance training at any BFA program than at most BA programs. BA programs, in addition having fewer hours dedicated to theatre classes, generally have more non-performance theatre training.</p>
<p>Studying curricula of various programs you might be interested in is the best way to get a handle on this.</p>
<p>Definately check the curriculum because not all BA’s are created equal-some are very close in trainging to a BFA. Also if you decide on a BA I would recommend choosing a school where there is not a BFA program. You are more likely to get performance opportunites at a BA school if you are not competing with all the BFA students as well.</p>
<p>Do study the curricula of the programs. You may be surprised.</p>
<p>Also remember that you will be able to pick up skills by actually being in shows. So make sure to look at the opportunities that the program has for actual productions.</p>
<p>You will be getting “skills”. And these skills will be usable in an acting career. That is going to happen.</p>
<p>But you will always need to be developing those skills and getting more skills. Not even the people with the BFA’s can say “I know everything about acting, I don’t need any more skills.” An actor keeps learning more about acting throughout their whole career.</p>
<p>Once you graduate, with some luck you will start getting acting work that meets the skills you have. Then as you develop as an actor you will be able to get more challenging work.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>Thank you all. I suppose there’s no rule of thumb for any of this, because many schools do things so uniquely. I’ll be sure to analyze and compare curricula before taking the leap.</p>