What Are the Top MFA Acting Schools?

New York University - Tisch School

• New York University's Tisch School Graduate Acting Program is probably one of the best MFA programs for acting in the country. Applicants must audition in front of several program administrators as a part of the admissions process. It is extraordinarily competitive, because only 16 students out of hundreds are admitted. The program is a three-year, two semester a year program requiring four to five classes a semester. One key, unique feature of instruction at the Tisch School is the use of the Alexander Technique, a special body-calming method). This technique is used in almost all of the courses.

  NYU Tisch School - MFA Acting

  721 Broadway, 5th Floor

  New York, NY 10003

  212 998 1960

The Actors Studio Drama School

• The Actor's Studio, which spawned a popular television series, is actually affiliated with a MFA in acting through Pace University in New York. The Actor's Studio was once affiliated with the New School MFA program, but is no longer as of 2005. The Pace University program is a three-year track that focuses on the Stanislavski System and the Method for instruction. The curriculum is also partly designed by the presidents of the Actors Studio- Ellen Burstyn, Harvey Keitel and Al Pacino. Pace University has several campuses throughout New York with the main campus listed below.

  Actors Studio Drama School - Pace University

  1 Pace Plaza

  New York, NY 10038

  1-800-874-PACE

Yale School of Drama

• The Yale School of Drama offers a world-renowned MFA in acting. The program, which is currently (in 2011) chaired by Ron Van Lieu, immerses students in the craft of acting by having them to participate is several plays held annually by the school. The accepted students take all classes together as one ensemble cast which is chosen after several auditions of prospective students. The program also features two special, mandatory courses -- Survey of Theater and Drama and The Collaborative Process.

  Yale School of Drama

  P.O. Box 208325

  New Haven, CT 06520

  203.432.1234 (box office)

Rutgers

• At Rutgers University, the Mason Gross School of the Arts offers an MFA in Theater Arts/Acting. The three-year, full-time program focuses on individual attention through small class sizes. However, the instruction is intensive as students are expected to participate in all of the 15 to 18 performances produced by the Jameson Project and Rutgers Theater Company productions. Auditions for acceptance into the program are offered in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

  Mason Gross School of the Arts

  33 Livingston Avenue

  New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1959

  732-932-9360