I’ve been asked to compile a list of colleges that have prominent Musical Theater programs. Basically the list should include any school that would have enough kids studying musical theater that they would book master classes, have a library of sheet music, produce a non-student-run musical, etc. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far. What am I missing? Leave comments! Thanks!
US
Abilene Christian University (TX)
AMDA (NYC, LA)
American University (DC)
Arkansas State University (AR)
Avila University, Kansas City (MO)
Baldwin-Wallace College (Ohio)
Ball State (IN)
Bates College (ME)
Belhaven University, Jackson (MS)
Belmont University (TN)
Berklee College of Music (MA)
Birmingham Souther University (AL)
Boston Conservatory (MA)
Bowling Green State University (OH)
Brigham Young University (UT)
Brown University (RI)
CalArts (CA)
CalPoly (CA)
Cal State Fullerton (CA)
California State University Chico (CA)
CAP 21 (NY)
Capital University, Colombus (OH)
Carnegie Mellon (PA)
Catholic University (DC)
Catawba College (NC)
Central Michigan University (CMU) (MI)
Chicago College of the Performing Arts (CCPA) at Roosevelt U. (IL)
Cincinnatti Conservatory (CCM) (OH)
Clarion University (PA)
Coastal Carolina University (SC)
College of the Canyons (California)
Colombia College, Chicago (IL)
Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids (MI)
Cornish College Of The Arts (WA)
Covina Center for the Performing Arts (California)
East Carolina University (NC)
Drake University, Des Moines (IA)
Drew University (Madison, NJ)
Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti (MI)
Elon University (NC)
Emerson College (MA)
Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison (NJ)
Florida Atlantic University (West Palm Beach, FL)
Florida State University (FL)
Florida International University (FL)
Harrison School for the Visual and Performing Arts (Lakeland, FL)
Hartt School of Music (CT)
Hollins University, Roanoak (VA)
Hofstra (NY)
Howard University (DC)
Hunter College (NY)
Illinois Wesleyan University (IL)
Indiana University (IN)
Ithaca College (NY)
James Madison University, Harrisonburg (VA)
The Juilliard School (NY)
Lees-McRae College (close to Boone, NC)
Liberty University (Lynchburg,VA)
Loyola University, Chicago (IL)
Manhattanville College
Marymount Manhattan (NY)
Milliken University (IL)
Middle Tennessee State Univ (TN)
Missouri State Univeersity (Springfield, MO)
Montclair State University (NJ)
Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA)
New World School of the Arts (FL)
New York Film Academy (NY)
New York School of Film and TV (NY)
Northwestern (IL)
North Carolina School of the Arts (NC)
North Dakota State University, Fargo (ND)
Nova Southeastern Univeristy, Ft. Lauderdale (FL)
NYU (Tisch, Playwrights, Steinhardt) (NYC)
Oakland University (Rochester, Michigan)
Ohio Northern University (OH)
Oklahoma City University, OKCU (Oklahoma)
Oral Roberts University (OK)
Otterbein University (OH)
Ouchita Baptist College (AR)
Pace University (NY)
Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts at Allan Hancock College (CA)
Patel Conservatory, Straz Center for the PA (Tampa, FL)
Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA)
Penn State (PA)
Plymouth State University, Plymouth (NH)
Point Park University (PA)
Rockford College (IL)
Rowan University, Glassboro (NJ)
Samford Univeristy (AL)
Sam Houston State University (Texas)
San Diego State Univ (CA)
Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) (GA)
Seton Hill University, Greensburg (PA)
Shenandoah Conservatory (VA)
Shorter College (Rome, Georgia)
Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX)
Suffolk University, Boston (MA)
Syracuse University (NY)
Temple (Philadelphia, PA)
Texas Chrisitian University (TX)
Texas State University (San Marcos, TX) new program
Troy University (Troy, AL)
Tulane Univ. (New Orleans, LA)
UCLA (CA)
The University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL)
The University of Arizona at Tuscon (AZ)
The University of the Arts (PA)
The University of California, Irvine (CA)
The University of Central Florida (FL)
The University of Central Oklahoma (OK)
The University of Cincinnati (OH)
The University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
The University of Findlay (OH)
The University of Florida Gainesville (FL)
The University of Georgia Athens (GA)
The University of Oklahoma (OK)
The Unviersity of Maryland, College Park (MD)
The University of Memphis (TN)
The Univeristy of Miami (FL)
The University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
The University of Minnesota (Duluth, MN)
The University of Mississippi (MS)
The University of Missouri, Kansas City (MO)
The University of Montevallo (Montevallo, AL)
The University of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC)
The University of N. Carolina Greensboro (NC)
The University of Nebraska, Lincoln (NE)
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (NC)
The University of Northern Colorado (CO)
The University of South Florida (Tampa, FL)
The University of Southern California (USC) (CA)
The University of Southern Colorado (CO)
The University of Southern Illinois (Carbondale, IL)
The University of Southern Maine (ME)
The University of Tampa (FL)
The University of Tennessee (TN)
The University of Texas (TX)
The University of Tulsa (OK)
The University of Wisconsin at Steven’s Point (Steven’s Point, WI)
Valdosta State University (Valdosta, GA)
Vanderbilt University (TN)
Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA)
Viterbo College (WI)
Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Wagner College (NY)
Weber State University (Ogden, Utah)
Webster University (MO)
West Texas A & M University, Amarillo (TX)
Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, NC)
Western Illinois University (IL)
Western Michigan University (MI)
Westminster College of the Arts at Rider University (NJ)
Wichita State University (KS)
Wright State University (OH)
Yale University (CT)
PROMINENT HIGH SCHOOLS
Booker T. Washington- Dallas
Campolindo HS- Moraga (CA)
Dreyfoos School of the Arts- Palm Beach, Fl
The Duke Ellington School (Baltimore)
Episcopal High School- Houston
Hamilton Academy of Music – Los Angeles, CA
High School of Visual and Performing Arts- Houston
Humphrey’s School-TUTS- Houston, Tx
Interlochen Academy Interlochen Michigan
LACHSA – Los Angeles, CA
LaGuardia High School (NY)
NC School of the Arts High School Division- Winston-Salem, NC
New World School of the Arts- Miami
NOCCA (New Orleans Creative Center for the Arts)- New Orleans
North Carolina Theatre School Raleigh, NC
Orange County High School of the Arts (California)
Pebblebrook High School (Atlanta)
Pinellas Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School- St. Pete Fla
Stratford High School- Houston
Virginia Governor’s School of the Arts- Norfolk,Va
Walnut Hill School for the Arts – Natick, MA
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS
The Arts Educational Schools (ArtsEd) (London) (UK)
The Australia Institute of Music (Australia)
Bird College, London (UK)
The Brit School (London) (UK)
Canadian College of Performing Arts (Victoria, Canada)
Central School of Speech and Drama (UK)
Concordia University (Montreal, Canada)
Danske Musicla Akademi (Denmark)
Dudley College (West Midlands, UK)
Griffith University (Australia)
Guildford School for Acting (UK)
Italia Conti Academy, London (UK)
Knightswood, The Danse School of Scotland (Scotland)
Laine Theatre Arts (UK)
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) (UK)
London Studio Centre (London, UK)
Monash University (Australia)
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts (London)
National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) Sydney (Australia)
Performers College (London)
Randolph (Toronto, Canada)
Royal Academy of Music (London)
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (UK)
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (UK)
Sheridan (Ontario, Canada)
St. Lawrence College Brockville (Ontario, Canada)
Trinity Laban College of Music and Dance (UK)
The University of Ballarat (Ballarat Victoria) (Australia)
The University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada)
The University of Gothenburg, Academy of Music and Drama (Sweden)
The University of Toronto (Canada)
The University of Western Ontario (Canada)
The Urdang Academy (UK)
Victoria College of the Arts (Australia)
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) (Australia)
St. Lawrence College Brockville, Ontario, Canada!
Added it, Boris! Thanks!
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Added UNC at Pembroke. Thanks!
WAAPA – Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts is the top music theatre school in Australia. Hugh Jackman (among many many others) is a notable graduate!
Love it. Added WAAPA. More Australia suggestions, please!
I’m thrilled to see Ball State on your list, but I’m thinking you mean Ball State University in Indiana, rather than Iowa. As a proud alumnus, I would be remiss if I didn’t double-check. Awesome list!!
D’oh! Corrected “IA” to “IN.” Let’s just call that a typo… Thanks!
National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) (Sydney -Australia)
and University of Ballarat (Ballarat Victoria – Australia)
Got it! Thanks, Nico!
Ms. Stitt,
Great article – thanks for the help! One small edit – I am a composition student at Belmont University in Nashville, TN, and I noticed two small errors in your list. Belmont is now a University, not a College (though it was when you were at Vanderbilt), and Vanderbilt University does not offer a degree in musical theatre and therefore doesn’t really fit in with the other schools on your list.
As a sidenote, I would be interested in seeing a more challenging list – Schools (undergrad and graduate) besides NYU where composers can learn to craft musical theatre from great composers in great environments for the duration of their education (not just adjunct instruction). At the moment, I’m under the impression that there aren’t any, but I figured you might be able to dispel that.
Thanks!
Chris
Hi, Chris! Thanks for the Belmont correction. And yes, I know there’s no MT degree at Vanderbilt, but not all of these schools have degree granting programs. Vanderbilt has “Original Cast” and several aspiring MT writers (besides me) have come out of the Blair School of Music.
As for your sidenote, I’ll be curious to see what others have to offer. I did the NYU musical theater writing grad program, and certainly benefitted from having the city of NY and its resources (personal and institutional) at my disposal. But I have learned more from professional experience than I could ever have learned at any school. For me it paid off to have a well-rounded undergrad education and then specialize once I graduated. Not true for everyone. What does anyone else have to say?
University of Gothenburg, Academy of Music and Drama (Sweden)
Highly prestigious Musical Theatre Programme (eight students accepted every year), the only one that leads to a Bachelor’s degree in the whole of Scandinavia.
I love the list! Thank you! Exciting to think about how many others there are out there, who are as passionate about this artform as I am.
/Julie, Gothenburg 🙂
Sweden! I love it! Thanks, Julie. How exciting. (Maybe next time I’m in Denmark I can swing by for a master class.)
Yes yes yes! Do so! But seriously, I will actually mention it next time I talk to our Head of Drama. Would be so inspiring!
Hello! I am a northern NJ native and live near Fairleigh Dickinson University, one of the schools on this list. I have to say, I’m surprised to see it there. I’ve never heard of a musical being produced there and in fact, the only theater I heard of there was the community theater I was in from ages 10-17 that rehearsed on campus. I don’t want to be a snob, but… the other NJ schools on this list? Definitely yes. FDU? Hm…
Hi, Anonymous — I just added it when someone suggested it to me. What do the rest of you say — should it be on the list? I’ve got one “yay” and one “nay.” Thanks again, everyone, for the input. — G.
Capilano University (Vancouver, Canada) has a very strong 3-year Musical Theatre Diploma program.