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Acting B.F.A.

The acting program provides emerging theater artists with rigorous training in performance technique, text analysis, creative improvisation, voice, speech and movement.
Student actors perform a scene from the play “In Love and Warcraft,” presented as part of a recent Department of Drama season.
Student actors perform a scene from the play “In Love and Warcraft,” presented as part of a recent Department of Drama season.

About this Program

  • Spend your first year immersed in a program of preprofessional theater study that includes as many as 18 hours of class time each week with opportunities to work on productions behind the scenes.
  • Enjoy opportunities after your first year to audition for roles in department productions, co-productions with Syracuse Stage, student- and faculty-sponsored productions, student films and more.
  • Benefit from the department’s partnership with Syracuse Stage, a professional theater company, including shared theater complex, access to industry professionals and the possibility of earning Equity points in Syracuse Stage productions.
  • Consider the actor-singer track option offering a concentration in music performance within the acting degree (interested students must apply for both the acting and musical theater programs).
  • Experience immersive learning opportunities in New York City, Los Angeles and London (in partnership with Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre).
  • Collaborate with community members with disabilities to co-create theater in an inclusive environment through our All Star C.A.S.T. (Community Actors and Students’ Theater) workshops.
  • Benefit from a strong, supportive alumni network.
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Program Information

Degree Type

Major

Outcome

B.F.A.

Modality

In-person

College or School

Career Path

Related Pages

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Top Drama Schools in the World (The Hollywood Reporter)
Top 27

Acting Colleges You Should Know (Backstage)
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College of Visual and Performing Arts

Home to the visual and performing arts at Syracuse University, VPA supports the creative process and professional development of its students. VPA is divided into seven areas: the School of Art; the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies; the School of Design; the Department of Drama; the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music; the Department of Film and Media Arts; and the Department of Creative Arts Therapy.
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Curriculum

Drama requirements: 36 credits

Movement requirements: 10 credits

Acting requirements: 30 credits

Theater laboratory: 0 credits

Academic requirements: 6 credits

Academic electives: 23 credits

Drama electives: 18 credits

Total Credits Required: 124

Extracurricular Opportunities

Study abroad opportunity

London Semester

Each fall, acting majors have the opportunity to spend a semester living and studying in London through Syracuse Abroad. While there, you’ll take classes in acting, voice and movement at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and you’ll attend performances at major venues. Your weekly schedule will allow ample time for weekend visits all over Europe.

Immersion opportunity

Tepper Semester

The Tepper Semester is a rigorous artistic training program that allows you to live and study in the heart of the New York professional theater scene. You will take classes at Syracuse University’s Fisher Center and attend up to 30 productions on and off Broadway that expose you to numerous genres of theater. You will learn about the artistic process from the prominent faculty as well as other industry professionals who attend your classes on a weekly basis for workshops and discussion.

Immersion opportunity

Sorkin Week

Supported by drama alumnus and Academy, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning writer and producer Aaron Sorkin ’83, H’12, the Sorkin in LA Learning Practicum (also known as Sorkin Week) provides you with a week-long, “hit-the-studios-running” immersion in Los Angeles, the heart of America’s film and television industries. Students selected for the practicum meet and learn from alumni and industry insiders for seminars, workshops and more.

Immersion opportunity

VPA LA Semester

The VPA LA Semester is an immersive professional development program that provides you with the opportunity to work as an intern in Los Angeles while taking academic courses taught by LA professionals with expertise in their given disciplines. The program is designed to broaden your understanding of career opportunities and gain skills to network and succeed in your career.

Related Programs

  • Drama (Theater Management) B.S.

    The B.S. drama program features a theater management track, which allows you to gain firsthand knowledge of a professional theater company’s operations by working with Syracuse Stage professionals.

  • Musical Theater B.F.A.

    The rigorous musical theater program focuses on the development of your individual talents and abilities with the aim of helping you to discover your uniqueness as a musical theater artist.

  • Stage Management B.F.A.

    In our step-by-step program, you’ll learn and apply a method of stage managing that is used in every major professional theater company in both the United States and abroad.

Learn more about this program

Acting B.F.A.
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