Student Blog: An End of Year Reflection on the Semester

This fall was the first semester of my junior year, as well as my first semester as a dual degree student pursuing both a Bachelor of Science in Media Communication Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre.  

I entered college with no designated major; it wasn’t until my sophomore year that I declared Media Communication Studies as my area of study after having been accepted into the program. The spring of my sophomore year, however, is when I finally met with an advisor at my university’s School of Theatre. 

At Florida State University, students wishing to pursue multiple areas of study have two options. The first is to pursue a double major. This would require the student to select a primary major and a secondary major. They’d then complete a standard 120 credit hours and receive one bachelor’s degree. 

The second option is to pursue dual degrees. This makes the areas of study two separate degrees, and as such, students pursuing this would need to complete 150 credit hours and any other requirements for the two different majors. This is the path that I chose. 

So, going into this semester, I knew that I would have to be immovably dedicated to my studies for the remainder of my time at Florida State. Planning to graduate in Spring 2026, I would have to take a full course-load each semester to be able to complete all required credits for my B.S (including a minor) and all credits for my B.A. 

For this fall semester, I put my focus on my Theatre degree. I enrolled in all the courses a first-year theatre student would typically be enrolled in, most of which conflicted with my more specialized courses for my B.S degree. Additionally, I enrolled in courses that theatre students in their second or third year would enroll in. 

I enjoyed each class I took this semester! Even the more introductory courses proved to be engaging to me. For example, in Intro to Theatre, students enrolled were encouraged to reconsider their definition of theatre and performance. It also introduced us to theatre theory and the works of Bertolt Brecht and Antonin Artaud, both of which I was vaguely familiar with prior to the course, though the course renewed an interest in their work for me! 

My favorite courses, however, were World Theatre History I and Stage Management I. In World Theatre History I, we explored various theatre styles from various cultures at different points in time. This included, but wasn’t limited to Ancient Greek theatre, liturgical drama and morality plays, Arab shadow plays, and classical Japanese theatre. Throughout the course, we read and analyzed plays and put into practice what we learned by crafting our own theatrical pieces. What ended up being my favorite project of the entire semester was one where I wrote and performed a modern adaptation of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata with a group of classmates. 

In Stage Management I, we homed in the skills required for effective stage management and other positions of leadership. Throughout the course, we worked on the paperwork used in theatre spaces, with emphasis on finding our personal style while keeping the information organized and easily readable. I greatly enjoyed learning these skills that I could use in practice, and this course only made me more excited to continue studying stage management! 

Overall, this semester was one that I loved. I met so many amazing people and have learned even more than I anticipated with this additional program. My enrollment window for the spring opened in the middle of the fall semester, and ever since I’ve enrolled in my next theatre courses, I’ve been waiting in anticipatory excitement. I’m looking forward to continuing an area of study I love so much and can’t wait to see what it brings me in the new year!