All can be completed in four years. The main difference between the B.F.A. and B.S. degrees is in the number of electives you take outside the department. The B.F.A. has a heavier professional emphasis requiring 21 to 24 more credits in acting and related support courses.
Faculty members evaluate all students at the end of the sophomore year.
Based on that evaluation, students may take upper-level performance courses and petition for admission into the B.F.A. program. Students who do not pass the evaluation may be asked to repeat Introduction to Scene Study or Introduction to Musical Theater Performance, or be asked to switch to the B.S. degree, which does not require upper-level acting classes. During the first year you participate in the Department of Drama foundation program. You also participate in a writing studio. You study the Stanislavski System and the Strasburg Method of actors' training, stressing psychological, emotional, and sensory development.