Most performing arts colleges in Tennessee offer a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.). This is more of a generalist degree, providing a wide foundation in an area of study that prepares students for work in the field or graduate school. Some Tennessee schools offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.). This degree program provides more of a conservatory-style course of study, where the focus is on practical application of the art form. For example a B.F.A. in music would focus more on instrumental performance than on the history of music.
Tennessee offers a wide variety of colleges with theater programs. Most of the theater programs in Tennessee, such as Rhodes College in Memphis, offer a Bachelor of Arts degree, in which students study many areas of theater including performance, technical theater, theater history and dramatic literature. However, some schools, such as Lipscomb University in Nashville, offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a choice of emphasis: acting, directing, design/tech or musical theater.
Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro offers a Bachelor of Music with a choice of one of seven emphases: instrumental music education, vocal/general music education, voice performance, music industry, theory-composition, jazz studies or instrumental performance. While a student must choose a focus, a program like this offers great networking opportunities because of the varied interests of students and faculty. The University of Tennessee in Chattanooga offers a similar program of study in musical performance, but also offers a focus in music education for those interested in teaching music to grades K-12.
Sometimes you have to sift through a lot of different program names to find the right program of study for you. Austin Peay State University in Clarksville offers both Bachelor in Science and Bachelor in Arts degrees in Communication Arts. This program focuses on theater for the major, but also offers a minor in dance. The term "communication arts" comes from theater programs that are often associated with media and communications, but usually the coursework deals with drama and dance study.