Where do I start?

[KMC]

I think you certainly have a chance to get a very well rounded education here. 

My point with this whole thread is not that you need a degree in stage management to be a successful stage manager.  My point is that if you're paying $25,000+ for an education in stage management, wouldn't you want to be taught by a stage manager?  I realize your school's theatre progam is in its infancy, and I don't doubt that you are getting good experience in a constructive learning environment; but at the end of the day who is giving you feedback on your performance as a stage manager?  Is your feedback from a TD, a Director, Designer, Production Manager, etc..., or is it from a stage manager?  Or, are you getting your feedback through a narrow window of one specified field?

[sourc3]

Feedback as an SM comes from all of the above - literally. I'm not paying $25k+ for an education in SMing. I'm paying it for an overall education, and gaining experience as an SM along the way. If I were going specifically for stage management, I would want to be trained by a stage manager, yeah. But as it is, it's a liberal-arts school focused as much on teaching it's students how to think as teaching them actual knowledge. As part of the theatre major, I'm required to take classes in all areas of theatre - directing, acting, lighting design, set design, and costuming, with options to focus more in one area than another. We're also taking a month-long trip to London next January to get an idea of the "theatre experience" there. So would I like to be taught by an SM? Ideally, yes. However, I think that you can get a good education that will prepare you for stage managing outside of school even if you're not. Which I know wasn't your point, and I agree with you fully on the point that if you're going to school for stage management, then yes. You should get taught by a stage manager.

[McShell]

One time I complained to my SM advisor about having to take acting classes. She said "This way when you're stage managing a show, even if you don't know what you're doing, you can act like you do."

I thought that was funny.

[LisaEllis]

What are you doing in the summers?

Internships and other work as an ASM will help you learn other perspectives (and there are many).  Also exploring other disciplines (dance, opera, musical theatre) may open some doors that you never considered before.  The time to do alot of that unpaid or low-paying jobs is while you're in college, because those pesky student loans have to start being paid after graduation.

Good luck!

[sourc3]

One time I complained to my SM advisor about having to take acting classes. She said "This way when you're stage managing a show, even if you don't know what you're doing, you can act like you do."

I thought that was funny.

"Professionalism is the art of pretending like you know what you're doing even if you have no idea what the hell is going on."

I don't know where I first heard it, but it's become my mantra. It's the only way I've gotten through some shows.

[KMC]

One time I complained to my SM advisor about having to take acting classes. She said "This way when you're stage managing a show, even if you don't know what you're doing, you can act like you do."

I thought that was funny.

"Professionalism is the art of pretending like you know what you're doing even if you have no idea what the hell is going on."

I don't know where I first heard it, but it's become my mantra. It's the only way I've gotten through some shows.

That's not what professionalism means at all, not even close.

[alexsjaan]

i'm going to say no. you won't need a degree for community theatre. maybe your community is different than mine though.

i worked hard, got my name known in my theatre company, and i'm stage managing my first show. rehearsals start next month. i'm fourteen :/ i learned entirely by experience as an ASM and other tech positions.