Mr. Cranky @ Large

Going to School: Theatre, Education, and the Web

As many of you may know, I also host a question and answer board at HollywoodNet. It may be the time of year, but suddenly I am awash in questions about how to get into a good acting school and how to find the best ones, as well as my own recommendations. You'll find my brief, basic answers there (although not my recommendations: American Academy of Dramatic Arts, NYU-Tisch School of the Arts -- among many others), but since it seems like a topic more appropriately explored here at Suite 101, I decided to give it a more concerted effort.

And what I discovered was very messy. Although I try very hard not to come off as Ameri-centric, sometimes the web just doesn't give. Finding lists of schools with "drama" programs is a piece of cake -- as long as you limit your search to the US and Canada. If you want to check out college level programs in the rest of the world -- say, even find a listing for one of the most internationally reknowned schools, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in the UK -- no benevolent soul or organization has taken it upon themselves to create a search engine for the wider world.


For straight-ahead links to a variety of colleges & universities with theatre programs:

Joe Geigel's favorite Theatre Related Resources -- Education and Theatre
The Intuitons College Theatre Guide
Scotts Theatre Links (Academic Programs)
Theater School Resources at World Wide Arts Resources
Yahoo! - Education:Higher Education:College Entrance


These sites allow you to search their databases of schools by major (try "drama" or "performing arts" instead of "theatre/theater"), as well as offering details and advice on scholarships, how to select, virtual tours. Some even let you apply through your browser!

CampusTours - Virtual Campus Tours
CollegeEdge Home Page
CollegeNet
Critical Comparisons
Get Into College: USNews - edu
Go College
Peterson's Education & Career Center
Princeton Review: Find -O- Rama

This site's claim to be the best is definitely warranted (although, that's no great shakes). What they do have is a frames format that allows to you visit the college sites while retaining the results of your search:

GoCollege: The best college search engine on the Internet


When you're ready to look at the rest of the world (with no ability to search):

College and University Home Pages
Global University Web - Your link the the world's universities and more!


And, finally, if you'd like to do some of your own digging into the world of theatre in academia, here are a few places to start:

Internet Resources for Institutional Research
Librarians' Index to the Internet
Center For All Collegiate Information - Text Version


Go see a show!


Originally published at Suite101.com Theatre, 7/15/97

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