Every year, thousands of high school seniors are auditioning at colleges throughout the U.S. to pursue a BFA/BM/BA in musical theatre. With over 100 colleges and universities offering degrees in MT, students have a wide variety of schools to choose from.
This list is based off of two main factors.
1. Alumni: We looked at who is currently on Broadway/National tour and where they went to school. In addition to that, we also analyzed how successful university's alums are in regional/rep theatre companies, after all, Broadway and tours are just one part of the professional theatre business.
2. Curriculum/School benefits: What are the signifiant offerings of each program. Do they offer abroad programs? Will students take a balance of acting/singing/dance classes, or is one style pushed more than another? Who is on the faculty and what are their credentials? Does this school have a strong reputation with good connections in the professional world? What percent of students who graduate every year have work within their first twelve months out of school? There's a big difference between 2/10 recent graduates booking Broadway and 2/60.
So without further adieu, here is a list of the top musical theatre programs in the United States!
1. Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
2. The University of Michigan
3. Penn State University
4. Elon University
5. Syracuse University
6. Pace University
7. College Conservatory of Music, The University of Cincinnati
8. Baldwin Wallace University
9. Florida State University
10. Ithaca College
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