Many schools offer different kinds of bachelor's and master's degrees depending on your desired concentration. Some of these degrees focus more on performance and production. Others combine their teaching of production skills with a broad liberal arts education.

Doctoral programs, however, are mainly intended for people who want to pursue extensive research or teach at the university level.

Acting in or working for various community theaters helps to get your name and talent into the field. Seek out summer and extracurricular acting or production gigs to gain a wider variety of acting experience.

Not all actors, especially beginning actors, can make a living for themselves only from acting. You may consider interning in stagecraft or theater administration to widen your skills base.

Many private acting academies and conservatories concentrate only on performance. If you're truly committed to performance and performance only, you may consider programs in these institutions. However, you should also keep in mind that some programs also provide you with a broad liberal arts foundation which can help make you a more well-rounded person in general.