Circle in the Square / Eckerd College Joint BFA
Combine a liberal arts education with conservatory training.
The BFA degree program offers qualified students the opportunity to combine a liberal arts education at Eckerd College with two years of professional conservatory theatre training at Circle in the Square Theatre School, located in the Broadway district of New York City.
The Eckerd Theatre Discipline offers a unique 2 + 2 program through an agreement with Circle in the Square Theatre School. Candidates may earn one of two degrees granted by Eckerd College:
either a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre or a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre.
Students have the option of following one of two paths
to earn their BFA in Theatre / BFA in Musical Theatre.
Start at Eckerd
Finish at Circle
Students who successfully complete their first two years of study at Eckerd College and who are accepted by audition to Circle in the Square Theatre School complete their junior and senior years at Circle.
Start at Circle
Finish at Eckerd
Students who transfer to Eckerd with two full years of study (with passing grades and two-year certificate) from Circle in the Square Theatre School, either in Acting or in Musical Theatre, may pursue a BFA degree in Theatre or Musical Theatre.
Students must complete separate admission requirements for Eckerd College and for Circle in the Square Theatre School. Candidates will complete the application for admission for both schools; admission is determined by each school separately.
Students must interview and audition as part of the entrance requirements to Circle in the Square Theatre School.
Students pursuing a BFA degree will pay tuition/fees to the institution they are currently attending. Scholarships and financial aid are also awarded by each school and are non-transferable.
Two full years of study (with passing grades and two-year certificate) at Circle in the Square Theatre School will be counted as 63 semester hours or 18 courses (two full years) at Eckerd.
One full year of study (with passing grades) at Circle in the Square Theatre School will be counted as 31.5 semester hours or 9 courses (one full year) at Eckerd.
Eckerd students will be placed on College Leave status while they complete courses at Circle in the Square Theatre School.
Successfully completed courses from Circle in the Square Theatre School will be transcripted in as transfer courses with no grade/GPA value (they will not appear as Eckerd course).
While at Eckerd, BFA students can continue their theatre education with these courses
Basic Acting
Sketch Comedy
Performance & the Environment
Human Instrument
Comedy & Laughter
Stagecraft
Acting for the Camera
Long Form Improv
Theatre Production
Animals in Performance
Directing
Design Basics
Lighting & Sound Design
*In addition, students can also take creative writing, music, visual arts, and film studies courses.
Acting, Directing, and Writing Opportunities
Eckerd College Theatre offers two to three faculty-directed productions per year, with additional student-led productions. Our 2023-2024 season included Monty Python’s Edukational Show, Children’s Letters to God, Eleemosynary, and Spring Awakening.
Students can propose to direct a play or musical (recent examples: Heathers: The Musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Children’s Letters to God) and do a staged reading of original plays.
Every two years, Eckerd participates in a Climate Change Theatre Action (CCTA) performance of 5-minute plays by playwrights from around the world as part of a biennial worldwide theatre initiative.
Another Man’s Trash, Eckerd’s long form improv troupe, performs on and off campus.
There are opportunities for acting work in student films through the Eckerd’s Film Studies program as well.
Acting Opportunities Off Campus
St. Petersburg
Professional theatre companies American Stage and freeFall Theatre
local community theatre St. Petersburg City Theatre
Tampa
Stageworks, Jobsite, and Powerstories Theatre
Sarasota
Urbanite Theatre and Florida Studio Theatre
In addition, past Eckerd students have worked with Disney World in Orlando, and Eckerd Theatre has an internship with Norwegian Cruise Lines, a company that is interested in offering more opportunities for Eckerd students.
