Featured performing and visual college arts schools of the month

It’s Autumn and peak season for college arts hunting! Ithaca College offers a conservatory-style approach to theater and an innovative and comprehensive college experience, and The Sunderman Conservatory is a dynamic music conservatory within one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges. Marymount Manhattan, in New York City, prepares students for various careers in dance, and Ringling College of Art and Design is among the most innovative visual arts colleges as well as a leader in the use of technology in college arts schools.

Theater: Ithaca College

The Department of Theatre Arts at Ithaca College has been an integral part of the College since 1897 (five years after its founding). A conservatory-style approach within an innovative and comprehensive college experience offers intensive, individualized instruction and mentorship from trained professionals. Production experience opportunities begin freshman year across five degree programs; Musical Theater, Acting, Theatrical Production Arts, Theatre Arts Management, and Theatre Studies. The Department draws students from across the U.S. and around the world to this beautiful NY state setting, with the goal of preparing students to participate in a global community encompassing the theatre, film, television, and entertainment industries. Many students take advantage of Ithaca College’s London Center and spend a semester of their junior year studying British drama and culture. In the senior year, opportunities include workshops and master classes that help facilitate the transition to the profession. Most students attend a one-week Field Studies trip to New York City, connecting with a rich network of IC alumni in the entertainment business. Visit the website

Music: The Sunderman Conservatory of Music

The Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College is a dynamic music conservatory within one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Students can take advantage of a broad range of solo, chamber, and large ensemble performance opportunities. Solos with orchestra, bands, choirs, opera, and musicals are awarded through audition. The Conservatory offers three music degrees; Bachelor of Music in Performance, Bachelor of Arts in Music, and Bachelor of Music Education. Each semester students are able to work with internationally renowned guest artists and lecturers who come to perform, teach, and share insights. Faculty members are skilled performers, composers, conductors, and scholars, and they are noted authorities on classical music, world music, contemporary music, jazz, music education, opera, and other areas. The Conservatory was founded by Dr. F. William Sunderman, a physician, pathologist, clinical scientist, chemist, toxicologist, author, editor, photographer, lifelong violinist and 1919 graduate of Gettysburg College. Visit the website

Dance: Marymount Manhattan

The Department of Dance at Marymount College, located in New York City, draws upon the highest standards of the profession, is versatile in nature, and prepares students for various careers in dance. The program offers excellent programs in the liberal arts and substantial pre-professional preparation. B.F.A. and B.A. degrees have concentrations ranging from Ballet, Choreography, and Jazz to Dance & Media and Teaching Dance Arts. The Dance Department has five studios for daily classes and rehearsals as well as two main performance spaces on campus, and students can audition for the MMC Dance Company, study abroad, or apply for one of countless internships. The faculty consists of some of the finest professors and dance professionals in New York City, and seniors are assisted in resume preparation, cover letters and photos, to land interviews and auditions. From dancing in concert dance companies to Broadway shows, from arts administration to writers, teachers, designers, choreographers or physical therapists, Marymount alumni can be found everywhere. Visit the website

Visual Arts: Ringling College of Art and Design

Ringling College of Art and Design is recognized as being among the most innovative visual arts colleges in the United States as well as a leader in the use of technology in the arts with a better than 2.2:1 computer to student ratio. Founded in 1931 by John Ringling, noted art collector, real estate developer and circus impresario, Ringling is a private, not-for-profit, fully accredited college offering the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (BFA) in the following disciplines; Advertising Design, Computer Animation, Digital Filmmaking, Fine Arts, Game Art & Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Interior Design, Motion Design, Painting, Photography & Digital Imaging, Printmaking, and Sculpture; and a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) in the Business of Art & Design. Located on Florida’s Gulf Coast, the picturesque 48-acre campus includes more than 110 buildings, and enrolls close to 1,300 students from 44 states and 54 countries. 156 faculty members are all professional artists, designers, and scholars, and each year, more than 70 recruiters from corporations and organizations visit campus to pursue Ringling graduates. Visit the website

Prepare for success with specialized college arts consulting from former college deans of admissions at ArtsBridge. Learn how to refine and match your talents to the right college arts schools for you, and receive personalized guidance in Theater, Music, Dance, or Visual Arts.