Bachelor of Fine Arts
Acting
Cultivate your artistic voice and prepare for a career in the performing arts with a bachelor’s degree in acting.
Oakland University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting provides high-quality and rigorous professional training for performing arts careers in acting or directing. Our acting BFA degree program offers individual attention from our dedicated faculty and numerous opportunities to sharpen your skills and technique on the stage. The benefits of a bachelor’s in acting degree extend beyond the thrill of performance. You’ll also develop workforce skills such as collaboration, problem-solving, time management, budgeting, and more. Oakland University’s acting BFA program delivers a well-rounded liberal arts education, with an added focus on the business side of the performing arts. You’ll graduate with an acting bachelor’s degree that prepares you to convert your creativity into a career.
Oakland University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting provides high-quality and rigorous professional training for performing arts careers in acting or directing. Our acting BFA degree program offers individual attention from our dedicated faculty and numerous opportunities to sharpen your skills and technique on the stage. The benefits of a bachelor’s in acting degree extend beyond the thrill of performance. You’ll also develop workforce skills such as collaboration, problem-solving, time management, budgeting, and more. Oakland University’s acting BFA program delivers a well-rounded liberal arts education, with an added focus on the business side of the performing arts. You’ll graduate with an acting bachelor’s degree that prepares you to convert your creativity into a career.
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting: The Oakland University Advantage
What separates Oakland from other colleges with acting degrees? From individual attention in small class settings to hands-on production experiences in the largest regional theatre in Michigan, your acting BFA program will be packed with opportunities to shine.
Our bachelor’s degree in acting allows you to:
- Learn from award-winning faculty. Oakland University acting majors train with program faculty who have performed in national tours and appeared on television and in major films. You’ll build strong relationships in an inclusive and supportive learning environment and create connections to national markets (New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago) and performing arts organizations.
- Receive specialized training. Whether your passion is voice, acting, directing, dramaturgy, or dance, you will receive one-on-one training and career advising throughout our acting BFA program. Small class sizes allow you to discover and refine your unique strengths in the performing arts.
- Gain theatrical experience. Oakland acting majors can audition for five mainstage productions each year. As an Acting BFA undergraduate student, you may also gain experience in production-based ensemble courses, improvisational student clubs, and an annual regional theatre festival.
- Work in high-quality performing arts venues. In addition to dance and recording studios, you will also have access to Michigan’s largest regional theatre. Meadow Brook Theatre, often called Michigan’s answer to Broadway, is located on the Oakland University campus. And our acting degree students are just a short drive from Detroit’s thriving theatre scene.
- Showcase your talent. Show off your skills and make connections to kick off your professional career in the performing arts with a Senior Showcase. Our acting BFA program seniors perform both in person and virtually for agents, casting directors, and other performing arts industry personnel. You’ll also travel to Chicago for a weeklong immersive theatre experience that includes master classes, networking, and taking in live shows.
What Can You Do With an Acting Degree?
Graduates with degrees in acting bring confidence, self-discipline, and other valuable skills to a range of performing arts careers. Job placement for Oakland University theatre majors has been as high as 90% in recent years. Acting jobs are projected to grow as streaming services continue to produce more entertainment content, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Recent Oakland graduates with a bachelor’s in acting degree have found success in performing arts careers that include:
- Stage Acting
- Film/Television Acting
- Theatre Production
- Directing
- Screenwriting
- Voice Acting
- Talent Management
- Casting
Bachelor’s Degree in Acting: What You’ll Learn
Admission to the bachelor’s degree in acting program at Oakland University requires two auditions: one at freshman entrance to the acting major and a major standing audition midway through the undergraduate program.
Students in our Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting will complete a range of theatre arts courses that provide both principles and practice in acting, directing, movement, dance, and voice. The acting BFA program culminates in opportunities for professional performing arts experience through advanced acting or directing projects, internships, or independent study.
In addition to gaining a high-quality liberal arts education, acting majors at Oakland complete four years of hands-on performing arts training in undergraduate courses that include:
- Acting
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- The Instrument
- The Script
- The Role
- Auditions
- Styles
- Shakespeare
- Advanced Studio
- Stage
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- Voice
- Combat
- Movement
- Dialects
- Makeup
- Mime
- Dance
- Directing
- Elements of Design
- Stagecraft
- Costume Construction/Craft
Acting Degree Program Resources
- Major requirements
- Minor requirements
- School of Music, Theatre and Dance
- College of Arts and Sciences
Programs Related to the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting
Not sure if the bachelor’s degree in acting is right for you? Check out these other undergraduate degree programs at Oakland, and contact our admissions team to discuss your options.