Colleges of Arts Sciences Office of Community and Alumni Relations in Bilger 101
Attending a performing arts college is a big decision—you're committing to focusing exclusively on your art for iv years. One time you lot've made this selection, you demand to observe a schoolhouse that'll let you to accomplish your career goals.
In social club to assist you find the correct schoolhouse for you, I've compiled a list of the best performing arts colleges in the US. Keep reading to come across what these are!
How Is "Performing Arts College" Defined for This List?
This list includes schools that exclusively offer drama and trip the light fantastic degrees. Since music schools tend to differ dramatically (I'thou then punny) from drama and dance schools, I've left them out of this article; if y'all want to read more about the all-time music schools in the US, here is the place to discover that information.
Furthermore, I've focused on schools where drama and/or trip the light fantastic toe is a priority. These schools only offer performing arts degrees or accept specialized performing arts schools at the larger university.
Going to a performing arts higher has many advantages for students. You will be surrounded by like-minded artists who volition inspire you, assistance you with your creative pursuits, and also likely exist your colleagues when you lot graduate. Additionally, y'all'll be at a school that doesn't view your art as a mere extracurricular activity.
Although it's possible to become a performing arts degr ee f rom other colleges, this listing of best performing arts colleges is designed for students who know 100% they exclusively want to written report acting or dance and are looking for an environment that fully supports them in their ambitions.
How Did I Decide on These Top Performing Arts Colleges?
Don't ever take rankings of the top performing arts colleges equally accented fact—not fifty-fifty those from Backstage or The Hollywood Reporter. Instead, you should use these articles as a starting signal for your ain enquiry. Whenever you await at a list of the best performing arts colleges, try to see how the rankings were determined.
Hither, I'll explain how I came upward with this unscientific list of schools. I started by limiting my search to schools that prioritize trip the light fantastic toe and drama by only offering performing arts degrees or by having a specialized program within the larger university.
I then took the following three criteria into consideration:
- Ranking: I used a variety of ranking lists from respected manufacture sources such as Backstage and The Hollywood Reporter equally a starting bespeak for my research.
- On-Campus & Off-Campus Extracurricular Opportunities: It'due south important as a performer to have the chance to actually perform. Does the school provide opportunities? Practise you take the option to intern off-campus with a local theatre or dance group? Tin can you study abroad at premier programs? Do yous get to perform in an industry showcase?
- Notable Alumni: How many alumni have risen to the top of their fields? If in that location are a lot of notable alumni, the program they attended probable contributed to their success, either by providing them with superior skills or superior resources (such as internships, industry connections, etc.).
I split this list into tiers instead of rankings since rankings are usually not that meaningful. Tier 1 schools are the cream-of-the-crop performing arts colleges; they provide students with the most extracurricular opportunities and have the longest lists of notable alumni. Tier 2 schools are notwithstanding excellent just don't have the same opportunities or as many notable alumni as the Tier ane schools do.
Notation that non all of these schools are excellent for both dance and drama. Actually, some of these schools only offering a trip the light fantastic toe or a drama program. Within each school description, I've noted whether it's a superlative school for dance, drama, or both.
At Tier 1 schools, yous can perform in first-rate productions.
Best Performing Arts Colleges: Tier ane
We'll start our list with the Tier 1 schools, or the best performing arts colleges in the land.
The Juilliard School—Drama and Dance
E'er listed nigh the meridian of both drama and dance rankings, Juilliard boasts an unbelievably long list of notable alumni who have won more than 105 Grammy Awards, 62 Tony Awards, 47 Emmy Awards, 26 Bessie Awards, 24 Academy Awards, sixteen Pulitzer Prizes, and 12 National Medals for the Arts. That's quite a full-blooded!
The school is extremely sectional, selecting only eight to x students for the BFA Acting Program, eight to 10 students for the MFA Acting Program, and about 24 students for the BFA Dance Program.
Outside the classroom, the dance program holds 15 public performances each year, and the drama program puts on many plays and senior showcases in both New York and Los Angeles for industry professionals such every bit casting directors, agents, and managers. If y'all're looking for a program that tin put you on the fast track to an amazing career, Julliard is an first-class pick.
NYU Tisch Schoolhouse of the Arts—Drama and Dance
Like Juilliard, NYU Tisch is also e'er almost the top of the rankings for both drama and dance. And for good reason: the schoolhouse has a long list of notable alumni, many of whom take performed on Broadway, at Radio City Music Hall, and in movies and on Tv set. While the list of notable alums is long, some names you may recognize include Lady Gaga, Elizabeth Olsen, James Franco, Spike Lee, and Kristen Bell.
Tisch offers many different degrees in different artistic fields, including drama, performance studies, film & television, dramatic writing, and cinema studies. The school is besides branching into different performance media, including music production and video game production/blueprint. The school also takes reward of its NYC environment by partnering drama students with professional person acting studios where they tin can perform in a wide assortment of productions led by globe-famous theatre artists and faculty.
Carnegie Mellon University—Drama
Carnegie Mellon has a long history of top-notch drama education: in fact, it was the showtime degree-granting drama institution in the Usa. More chiefly, Carnegie Mellon is a drama powerhouse with a faculty of working theater professionals and well-known alumni, including Holly Hunter, Baton Porter, Judith Light, Ted Danson, and Zachary Quinto. This school offers dissever acting and musical theatre degrees equally well, giving students the option to specialize in unlike types of performances.
The drama section offers a unique, hands-on teaching that gives students plenty of on-phase opportunities. The department puts on xx shows per twelvemonth, allowing for many performance opportunities. Additionally, the school cancels classes for a week each year to allow students engage in performances of any kind (such as original works or adaptations of movies). Seniors get to perform in showcases in New York, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh in forepart of industry professionals.
Additionally, Carnegie Mellon offers students a chance to engage in interdisciplinary studies through The Studio for Creative Inquiry and The Heart for Arts in Society. If you're interested in seeing how drama can affect the world both on stage and beyond, then Carnegie Mellon would be a great fit for you lot.
Theatre school has fun costumes!
Boston Solarium—Dance
One of the top trip the light fantastic programs in the The states, the Boston Conservatory boasts a faculty of world-course artists who have worked with notable choreographers such as Antony Tudor, Robert Joffrey, José Limón, Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, and Agnes de Mille, and with dance companies such as Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet of New York, and Limón Dance Company.
There are many performance opportunities throughout the yr, the nearly prestigious being the ability to perform as a fellow member of the Boston Conservatory Dance Theater. Alumni perform with dance companies around the world also as on Broadway. Go along in mind, nonetheless, that the Boston Conservatory specializes in contemporary dance...so if you're looking for classical training, yous should consider a different program.
Yale University—Drama (MFA)
No best performing arts colleges list would be consummate without the Yale Schoolhouse of Drama. This schoolhouse is world renowned for its MFA Acting program; even so, I'd suggest against doing the more general BA program, which doesn't give you access to the same faculty or operation opportunities.
The MFA plan offers programs in every aspect of performance, from on-stage interim all the way to technical design and phase management. The Schoolhouse of Drama also boasts a long list of famous alumni, including Meryl Streep, Angela Bassett, Sigourney Weaver, Paul Giamatti, and Lupita Nyong'o. The schoolhouse too invests heavily in students' networking opportunities; students in their last yr human activity in showcases in both New York and Los Angeles in front of industry professionals.
In the past 10 years, 100% of graduates have landed agents or managers within the first month out of school. So if you're serious about having a career in the performing arts, you should definitely consider Yale'south MFA program.
Northwestern University—Drama
Northwestern is 1 of the few drama schools that doesn't crave an audition for admission. Withal, getting accustomed is tough considering drama students are held to loftier academic standards, and the electric current university credence charge per unit is around 8%. It'due south non surprising that many of the plan's alumni go on to take illustrious careers. Some of the school's nigh notable alums include David Schwimmer, Stephen Colbert, Anna Gunn, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Zach Braff.
Undergraduate students at Northwestern have many opportunities to perform in both school-sponsored and student-run shows. As many as 40 shows a year are staged at the Wirtz Center for the Performing arts, and some other xl student-led shows happen across campus. Additionally, seniors are invited to participate in showcases in New York and Chicago in front of industry professionals.
Express yourself.
Best Performing Arts Colleges: Tier two
In this section, nosotros take a look at other great performing arts colleges that we've classified equally Tier 2. These schools are still splendid, but they aren't quite every bit prestigious as those listed in Tier 1. Having said that: you're still setting yourself up for a nifty career if y'all earn a degree from any of these universities!
UNC School of the Arts—Drama and Trip the light fantastic toe
UNCSA is home to exceptional drama and trip the light fantastic toe programs. Alumni of the trip the light fantastic program take gone on to perform with the American Ballet Theatre, the New York City Ballet, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the Paul Taylor Trip the light fantastic Visitor, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the Martha Graham Ensemble. Others accept danced with performers such equally Lady Gaga, Janet Jackson, and Beyoncé. UNCSA's notable alumni include include Mary-Louise Parker, Lucas Hedges, Anthony Mackie, and Dane DeHaan.
Drama and dance students at UNCSA accept many functioning opportunities including a senior showcase for industry professionals in New York. Drama students also perform their showcase in Los Angeles.
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)—Drama and Trip the light fantastic
CalArts is considered the best dance school on the West Coast and one of the tiptop drama schools in the country. The School of Dance boasts distinguished faculty and brings in guest artists to give students industry and expert perspective. Some contempo visiting artists include Gerard & Kelly (mixed media performers) and Benjamin Millepied (old principal dancer with the New York City ballet and Natalie Portman'south husband).
The schoolhouse also offers several performance opportunities, such as in American College Dance Festivals; information technology also has an International Exchange program with the London Gimmicky Trip the light fantastic toe Center which allows students to proceeds international dance experience.
CalArts likewise boasts a acme-notch drama programme as well. The drama school is a bang-up option for actors who know they want to pursue flick or television acting since, during the final year, students enroll in Acting Studio for the Camera. This course specifically trains students for acting and auditioning for flick and TV. Additionally, at the terminate of the final semester, students get to perform in an industry showcase in Los Angeles. The drama school has a bunch of famous alumni including Don Cheadle, Ed Harris, and Alison Brie.
Accept the leap and utilise to a performing arts schoolhouse!
Rutgers University—Drama and Dance
Rutgers' Mason Gross Schoolhouse of the Arts has globe-class drama and dance programs. Thanks to its proximity to New York City, the dance program offers students opportunities for main classes and workshops in globe dance forms with international artists. It besides has two tremendous programs abroad, DanceJerusalem in Israel and the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.
Rutgers' drama program is unique and well rounded. Classes run the gamut from Shakespeare to mod TV. Students spend their 3rd year at the Rutgers Conservatory at Shakespeare's Globe in London, which culminates with a performance on the Earth stage. The last semester is focused on an effective transition into the professional person interim world with classes in On-Camera Technique, Auditioning, and Introduction to the Life of a Working Role player. The drama plan has some famous alumni, including Kristen Davis and Calista Flockhart.
Fordham University—Dance
Fordham is located in the Bronx, which means students will be steeped in trip the light fantastic culture and history from the moment they step on campus. Known primarily for its partnership with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Fordham offers students a liberal arts educational activity and collaboration with a globe-famous modern dance company. Additionally, the plan and company call Lincoln Eye dwelling house, which is pretty amazing!
Many alumni go along to perform with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater after graduation, while others take gone on to trip the light fantastic for prestigious companies and on Broadway. Some of Fordham'due south incredible trip the light fantastic toe alumni include Ephraim Sykes (who performed in Hamilton on Broadway), Anne Souder (Martha Graham), and Victoria Guajardo (Momix).
Syracuse Academy—Drama
Syracuse offers separate degrees in acting or musical theatre, allowing students to specialize in a particular field. Students also have the opportunity to study "away" in New York, Los Angeles, and London, which are some of the best cities for the dramatic arts in the world. The program has developed a number of famous talents, including Taye Diggs, Jerry Stiller, and Vera Farmiga.
Students can besides perform with the Syracuse Stage, an outstanding Equity theater company, and gain Equity points while still in schoolhouse. Equity points are 1 way performers tin can earn membership into the Actors' Equity Association, which is the union for professional phase actors and managers. In other words, graduating with a degree in drama from Syracuse gives you a leg upwards in the theatre world.
University of Southern California—Drama
The University of Southern California is known for its film programme, but it has a fantastic drama plan too. Information technology's probably not a huge surprise given that the school is located in Los Angeles, the middle of the motion picture industry. Considering of that, the school invites many visiting artists to work with students to develop their craft. Onetime visiting artists include Lisa Kudrow, Bryan Cranston, and Tony Shalhoub.
The programme prides itself on tailoring programs to fit each student'south private needs and goals. While all students become a solid foundation in the dramatic arts, they also become to accept highly specialized classes like Stand up Upwardly Comedy and Medical Clowning. That allows students to focus their studies to fit their time to come careers. Famous alumni from the USC School of Dramatic Arts include Wood Whitaker, Troian Bellisario, Deborah Ann Woll, and Beck Bennett.
Oklahoma City University—Trip the light fantastic
Oklahoma City University is well-known every bit an arts schoolhouse, only its dance program stands out from the crowd because of its focus on American dance forms. The school teaches tap, jazz, and musical theater dance at the highest levels. Students can also major in arts direction, a unique degree that teaches students how to be professional managers that aid straight performers' careers. Famous grads performing on Broadway include Sara Edwards (dance captain, Foilles) and Marie Danvers (Christine in Phantom of the Opera). If you specialize in American dance, Oklahoma City university would exist a nifty fit for you.
And so many schools, but where should Yous apply?
Which of the Peak Performing Arts Colleges Is Best for You?
Merely because Juilliard is an incredible schoolhouse doesn't mean you should want to become at that place. It's a tiny school with a very intense program which might not be the best fit for all students. Hither are some questions to enquire yourself when trying to pick one of these best performing arts colleges.
What Do You Desire to Specialize In?
If you're interested in dance, practice you want to do ballet or gimmicky? If y'all're interested in acting, do you want to perform in plays, musicals, boob tube, or film?
Look into the programs and see what courses are offered. Try to avoid picking a schoolhouse specializing in ballet if you want to practice gimmicky trip the light fantastic. Similarly, avoid picking a musical theatre program if you desire to act in TV (and vice versa).
Hip-hop is awesome.
What Opportunities Are There Outside the Classroom?
I touched on this above, but be sure to go to a performing arts schoolhouse where the opportunities align with your interests. For case, if y'all want to do Shakespeare, then Rutgers—which offers a year abroad in London working at the Globe Theatre—might be a better fit for y'all than CalArts or Northwestern would be.
Extracurriculars are where you go your experience, so make certain you'll exist getting experience in your called specialty.
What's the School Similar?
Is it a big school or a small school? Is information technology a solarium or is information technology at a larger university? If you hate large schools, only don't cull one. You don't desire to dread being surrounded by tons of students or being forced into cheering for the basketball team.
If yous go overwhelmed by intensity, a conservatory (such as Juilliard or the Boston Conservatory) might not be a great choice for you lot since they're both modest programs where contest is fierce. On the other hand, at a school like Syracuse, you could take breaks from your theatre community past hanging out with other students who are majoring in journalism, engineering, pre-med, etc.
In short, option a school where yous will be most comfy and then that you can thrive.
What's Next?
Are you lot interested in pursuing a performing arts degree in a specific region? Cheque out our lists of performing arts colleges in New York and performing arts colleges in California.
Most of the schools in a higher place require Human action or SAT scores with your application. Get help studying for these tests with our ultimate Sabbatum/Act study guides.
Taking the ACT or Sabbatum really shortly? Then accept a look at our guide to cramming for the Sat or our guide to cramming for the Human activity.
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As an Sat/ACT tutor, Dora has guided many students to exam prep success. She loves watching students succeed and is committed to helping you get there. Dora received a full-tuition merit based scholarship to University of Southern California. She graduated magna cum laude and scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT. She is also passionate well-nigh acting, writing, and photography.
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