Going to art college is a big decision – you commit to focusing on your art for only four years. Once you have made this choice, you need to find a school that will allow you to achieve your career goals. Going to a college for performing arts has many benefits for students. You will be surrounded by like-minded artists who will inspire you, help you with your artistic interests, and possibly become a colleague when you graduate. Plus, you’ll be in a school that doesn’t consider your art a part-time job.
While it may be possible to earn art degrees in some colleges, this list of top-performing colleges focuses on 100% of students who only want to study acting or dance and want a place that fully supports them in their goals. Here are the top 10 theatre programs for you.
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1. Julliard School of Drama and Dance
Always found close to the top of the game and dance levels, Juilliard has an incredibly long list of notable alumni who have won more than 105 Grammy Awards, 62 Tony Tony Awards, 47 Emmy Awards, 26 Bessie Awards, 24 Academy Awards, 16 Pulitzer Prize, and twelve art awards. That’s really a grandchild! The school is extremely specialized, selecting only eight to 10 students for the BFA Acting Program, eight to ten students for the MFA Acting Program, and about 24 students for the BFA Dance Program. Outside of the classroom, the dance program manages 15 public performances each year, and the drama program features several major shows and shows in New York and Los Angeles for industry professionals such as broadcast directors, ambassadors, and managers. If you are looking for a program that can put you on the fast track for amazing work, Julliard is an excellent choice. The school has an acceptance rate of 7% and a yearly cost of 34,000 USD. It is of course really hard to get placed in Jullian but if you make it, you’ll be looking at a bright and successful future.
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2. NYU Tisch School of Arts
Like Juilliard, NYU Tisch also stays close to the top of the game and dance levels. And for good reason: the school has a long list of famous alumni, many of whom have worked for Broadway, Radio City Music Hall, and movies and TV. While the list of notable alumni is long, other names you can see include Lady Gaga, Elizabeth Olsen, James Franco, Spike Lee and Kristen Bell.
Tisch offers many different degrees in various fields of art, including drama, performance studies, film and television, amazing writing, and cinema lessons. The school also has branches in a variety of operating sources, including music production and video production/design. The school is making good use of its NYC environment in partnership with talented drama students and drama studios where they can perform in a wide range of theatres led by world-renowned artists and artists. They have an acceptance rate of 19% and a yearly cost of 49,000 USD.
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3. Carnegi Mellon University – Drama
Carnegie Mellon has a long history of high-quality drama education: in fact, it was the first graduation centre in the US. Most importantly, Carnegie Mellon is a powerful theatrical force with a talented theatre staff and well-known staff, including Holly Hunter, Billy Porter, Judith Light, Ted Danson, and Zachary Quinto. The school offers a variety of acting and music degrees and offers students the opportunity to make special choices in a variety of activities. The drama department offers a unique, hands-on education that gives students many opportunities on stage. The department sets up 20 exhibitions a year, allowing for more work opportunities. In addition, the school cancels classes each week to allow students to participate in activities of any kind (such as live activities or movie adaptations). Seniors began exhibiting in New York, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh in front of industry experts. In addition, Carnegie Mellon offers students the opportunity to participate in a variety of courses through The Studio for Creative Inquiry and The Center for the Arts in Society. If you are interested in seeing how drama can affect the world on stage and beyond, then Carnegie Mellon might be a great fit for you. The university has an acceptance rate of 15% and the yearly fee is 30,618 USD.
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4. Boston Conservatory – Dance
One of the top dance programs in the US, the Boston Conservatory has a collection of world-class artists who have worked with dancers such as Antony Tudor, Robert Joffrey, José Limón, Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, and Agnes de Mille, as well as dance companies such as Boston Ballet, New York Ballet, and Limón Dance Company. There are many opportunities to work throughout the year, highly regarded for being able to perform as a member of the Boston Conservatory Dance Theater. Alumni also performs with dance companies around the world and on Broadway. Remember, however, that the Boston Conservatory is focused on modern dance so if you’re looking for classic training, this university is not for you. They have an acceptance rate of 19% and the yearly fees come around 29,479 USD.
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5. Yale University – Drama
There is no complete list of best-performing arts colleges without the Yale School of Drama. The school is known the world over for its MFA Acting program; however, we would advise against doing a standard BA program, which does not give you access to the same skills or career opportunities.
The MFA system offers programs in all aspects of operation, from stage to operation all the way to technology building and stage management. Drama School also has a long list of famous alumni, including Meryl Streep, Angela Bassett, Sigourney Weaver, Paul Giamatti, and Lupita Nyong’o. The school also invests in student communication opportunities; final year students doing shows in New York and Los Angeles in front of industry experts. For the past 10 years, 100% of students who have received agents or administrators during the first month are out of school. So if you are determined to have a career in the performing arts, you should consider Yale’s MFA program. The university has a very tough acceptance rate of 6% and the yearly cost of the study is 18,000 USD.
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6. Northwestern University – Drama
The Northwest is one of the few drama schools that do not require an audition. However, admission is difficult because drama students are held at higher academic levels, and the current university admission rate is around 8%. Not surprisingly, most of the alumni of this program continue to have good jobs. Some of the most notable school alumni include David Schwimmer, Stephen Colbert, Anna Gunn, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Zach Braff. Undergraduate students in the North West have many opportunities to perform in both school-sponsored and student-sponsored exhibitions. Forty exhibitions per year are organized at the Wirtz Center for the Performing arts, and another 40 student-led exhibitions take place across campus. In addition, senior students are invited to participate in demonstrations in New York and Chicago in front of industry experts. The fee per year Is 26,196 USD. Northwestern is definitely an academically rigorous school, but the amount of resources provided to its students makes success attainable. The Northwestern faculty goes above and beyond to ensure that their students have the support they need, not only to promote strong academics, but also all facets of health. Also, the student body at Northwestern is incredible! Everyone is extremely kind and inclusive.
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7. California Institute of Arts – Drama and Arts
CalArts is regarded as one of the best West Coast dance schools and one of the best sports schools in the country. The Dance School has outstanding degrees and brings in visiting artists to give students industry and professional perspective. Some of the newcomers include Gerard & Kelly (collaborative media producers) and Benjamin Millepied (former New York City ballet dancer and husband Natalie Portman). The school also offers several career opportunities, such as the American College Dance Festivals; It also has an International Exchange program and the London Contemporary Dance Center that allows students to experience international dance experience.
CalArts is also proud of its high-performance drama program. Drama School is a great choice for actors who know they want to imitate acting in a film or television because, for the last year, students are signing up for the Acting Studio Camera. This course trains students specifically for acting and screening films and TV. Additionally, at the end of the last semester, students began doing an industrial show in Los Angeles. The drama school has a host of famous alumni including Don Cheadle, Ed Harris and Alison Brie. The program has an acceptance rate of 16% and the tuition fee is 56,000 USD.
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8. University of South California – Drama
The University of Southern California is known for its film program, but it has an excellent drama program as well. It is probably not surprising that the school is located in Los Angeles, the heart of the film industry. As a result, the school invites many visiting artists to work with students to develop their art. Visiting artists include Lisa Kudrow, Bryan Cranston, and Tony Shalhoub. The program prides itself on aligning programs to suit the needs and goals of each student. While all students get a solid foundation in the art of drama, they also find very special classes like Stand Up Comedy and Medical Clowning. That allows students to focus on their studies in order to fit into their future work. Famous fans from the USC School of Dramatic Arts include Forest Whitaker, Troian Bellisario, Deborah Ann Woll, and Beck Bennett. The approximate cost of the study is 14,548 USD and the university has an acceptance rate of 11%.
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9. Rutgers University – Drama and Dance
Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts has world-class dance programs. Because of its proximity to New York City, the dance program offers students the opportunity for high-class classes and workshops in international dance forms with foreign artists. It also has two major programs overseas, DanceJerusalem in Israel and the Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance in London.
Rutgers’ drama program is unique and round. Classes run the show from Shakespeare to modern TV. The students spend their third year at the Rutgers Conservatory at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, ending up performing at the Globe stage. The last semester focused on the practical transformation in the world of technology with classes in On-Camera Technique, Auditioning, and Introduction to the Life of a Working Actor. The drama program features some famous students, including Kristen Davis and Calista Flockhart. The university has an average cost of study of 15000 USD and an acceptance rate of 61%.
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