Bridgit Mendler, Brenda Song: Disney stars and their degrees from prestigious universities

Most of us grew up watching Disney Channel classics and are fans of the company’s original series and movies. 

Ask any young adult today and they’d probably heard of “High School Musical,” “the Suite Life of Zack and Cody,” “That’s So Raven,” “Hannah Montana,” and more. There are also Disney Channel Originals such as “Jessie,” “Austin & Ally,” and “Good Luck Charlie” that many Gen Zs grew up with.

These shows have produced Disney stars who have gone on to amazing careers. A prime example is Zendaya, who started her acting career in “Shake It Up”, “K.C. Undercover,” and more.

Fast-forward to today, she has produced chart-topping songs, modelled some of fashion’s biggest hits, starred in multiple blockbusters, and received two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.

There is also Selena Gomez, who had her big breakout as Alex on “Wizards of Waverly Place.” Now, she’s one of the world’s biggest pop stars, with a sizable acting career along with her own award-winning beauty brand. 

It’s not uncommon for these child stars to continue their acting careers while pursuing an education. In fact, many child stars have gone on to graduate with degrees while juggling their careers. 

But it was not without struggles, of course. 

Fame and fortune may follow those with successful acting careers, but also paparazzi. Source: AFP

With fame comes a price

It’s not surprising that celebrities have a hard time attending their classes normally. After all, it’s difficult to focus when people are sneaking photos of you or pointing you out in a crowd. 

Miranda Cosgrove – known for “iCarly” – spoke of such incidents. The actress attended the University of Southern California while in the midst of her acting career.

“The weirdest part is after a day at school, I’ll go on Instagram or the internet, and there will be pictures of me from school that random people took, and I didn’t know they took,” said Cosgrove in an interview with ABC News.

Brooke Shields also struggled with fame, having been a public figure since she was 11 months old. The model-turned-actress attended Princeton University, where paparazzi would attempt to sneak onto campus dressed like students just to follow her around. 

Thankfully with the rise of online learning, many people can obtain degrees without stepping onto campus, including high-profile individuals like celebrities. 

This is especially important for younger celebrities – such as child actors – when it comes to their personal safety. The internet can be particularly vicious to young actors, eager to jump at any chance to fling hate their way. 

Millie Bobbie Brown, for example, struggled with being in the spotlight from a young age. Known for her breakout role as Eleven in Netflix’s hit “Stranger Things,” Brown was the target of incessant Internet hate, scrutiny, harassment, sexualisation and trolling since she was 12 years old. 

Now 20, she is taking online courses at Purdue University, working towards a degree in human services while keeping up with her acting career. As a result of her traumatic experience, Brown has no social media, and her only active platforms are handled by her team. It’s safe to say that attending classes in an online space only further helps Brown avoid unnecessary interaction and protects her from bullies. 

The curriculum includes classes in human development, speech communication, psychology, and sociology, as well as family studies and processes. Students who graduate from the programme go on to work as child and family case managers, social workers, or school counsellors, to name a few.

When asked why she chose that programme, Brown answered, “Young girls deserve an education. Young people everywhere deserve equal rights. [You] deserve to love the people that you want to love. Be the people that you want to be and achieve the dreams that you want to achieve.”

Many former child stars like Cosgrove and Brown have also found their way into higher education, and some have shone brightly as top-performing graduates. Take a look at these well-loved Disney stars, for example:

Bridgit Mendler promised a new album, but came back with multiple degrees, her own company and a son. Source: AFP

Disney stars who went into higher education

Bridgit Mendler

We can’t start this list without giving a massive shoutout to Bridgit Mendler, who recently graduated from Harvard University with a law degree.

Known for her roles in Disney Channel Originals such as “Good Luck Charlie” and “Lemonade Mouth,” Mendler also made waves in the music industry, releasing standout hits such as “Hurricane” and “Ready or Not,” the latter of which debuted at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100. 

But at the peak of her newfound stardom, Mendler decided to pursue higher education at the University of Southern California, where she graduated with a degree in Anthropology.

Her journey didn’t stop there – she also attained a Master of Science in Media Arts and Sciences from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is currently still pursuing a PhD at the same institution. While doing all of that, she also completed her law degree at Harvard.

Oh, but there’s more. Academia wasn’t the only endeavour she had – the Disney star is also the founder and CEO of her own aerospace and aviation company, Northwood Space. She describes it as “a data highway between Earth and space” and is working to revolutionise satellite data collection. 

On top of all that, she adopted a four-year-old boy at the end of 2022 and dropped the surprise announcement on X. Talk about mothering!

The Sprouse brothers were dubbed Disney heartthrobs in their teens for their good looks, charm, and humour. Source: AFP

Dylan and Cole Sprouse 

The Sprouse brothers were a household name back in the day. From 2005 to 2008, they starred in Disney’s hit series “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody,” which propelled them to success. The boys launched their own franchise called the Sprouse Bros, which included clothing lines, a book series, and magazines. 

Thanks to their success in the Suite Life series, Disney renewed their contract and created “The Suite Life on Deck,” in which the Sprouse brothers reprised their roles as Zack and Cody. It was the most-watched children’s television show in 2008 and 2009. 

Famously, they were two of the wealthiest child actors in 2007. They were the highest-paid Disney television child actors, earning about US$40,000 combined per episode. 

After The Suite Life on Deck ended in 2011, the two brothers enrolled in New York University, where they both joined the Gallatin School of Individualised Study. There, Dylan took up video game design, while Cole focused on humanities and archaeology. 

Fun fact, when the Disney stars graduated in May 2015, they actually walked away with each other’s diplomas during the ceremony as a prank. 

Sofia Carson also starred in the hit Netflix series Purple Hearts. Source: AFP

Sofia Carson

Sofia Carson first appeared on the Disney Channel series “Austin & Ally,” before receiving recognition for her role as Evie in Disney’s “Descendants.” She acted alongside fellow Disney stars Dove Cameron, known for Disney Channel comedy series “Liv and Maddie,” and the late Cameron Boyce who first starred in Disney’s “Jessie.” 

She is also a singer, featured on several of “Descendant’s” main tracks before signing to Hollywood Records in 2016. That same year, she sang the Oscar-nominated song “Applause”, written by Diane Warren, for the film “Tell It Like a Woman,” which she then performed at the 95th Academy Awards. 

Carson attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she majored in communications with a minor in French. She also took classes in international relations, which proved to be beneficial as she is now a UNICEF ambassador. 

Her passion for education didn’t stop after graduating – in 2019, she was appointed the first Global Ambassador of the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation, where she advocates for the foundation’s mission and educational programmes.  

In 2022, Carson partnered with the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation to announce the Sofia Carson Scholarship, which will fund a bachelor’s degree at Berklee College of Music. Following that, Carson received the Global Advocate of the Year in 2023 from the United Nations Correspondent Association. 

Storm Reid was a featured speaker at the USC Dramatic Arts Drama Center Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony and Grand Opening at USC School of Dramatic Arts’ Drama Center on March 28, 2024. Source: AFP

Storm Reid

The young actress received critical acclaim for many of her roles as a child actor, such as the film “A Cross to Bear,” “12 Years A Slave” and Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time.” Her role for the Disney move earned her a nomination for the Teen Choice Award for Choice Fantasy Movie Actress, and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Breakthrough Role in a Motion Picture.

Storm Reid has a busy schedule. She starred alongside Zendaya in HBO’s “Euphoria,” voiced Nia in Hulu’s “The Bravest Knight,” and appeared in movies such as “The Invisible Man,” “The Suicide Squad,” Missing” and “The Nun II.” Her guest performance in “The Last of Us” as Riley Abel earned her further critical acclaim, and won her the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Drama Series and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

Lengthy award names aside, you’d be surprised to find that Reid is actually a very normal 19-year-old who enjoys wearing sweatpants to university class. When she’s not acting for the big screen, she attends the University of Southern Carolina, majoring in dramatic arts and minoring in African American studies. 

“I get to experience things that people will never get to experience in their lifetime, which I’m cognizant of and I’m very grateful for,” says Reid. “But I do want to go to the football games, I do want to go to the parties, I do want to just go hang out with my friends and walk around campus at 3 a.m. sometimes.”

Brenda Song also holds a black belt in taekwondo, which undoubtedly helped her land a leading role in Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrier. Source: AFP

Brenda Song

Many know Brenda Song for her iconic role as London Tipton in “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.” What you may not know, however, is that she turned down an offer from Harvard University so that she could star in the Disney Channel Original Series.

Song began in show business as a child fashion model in San Francisco and took up short gigs where she acted in commercials. She mostly played small roles in films and series and made her first theatrical film debut in “Santa with Muscles,” a 1996 indie film starring Hulk Hogan. 

It wasn’t until the early 2000s that Disney offered her a contract to star in their productions. Song made guest appearances in Disney sitcoms such as “That’s So Raven,” “One on One,” “Phil of the Future” and so on, but it was her role as London Tipton that made her career take off. Soon after, she landed a lead role in “Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior,” thanks to her martial arts training. 

While juggling her acting gigs at a young age, Song was mostly homeschooled and earned her high school diploma at only 16 years old. At the same time, she received an early acceptance offer from Harvard University but decided to turn it down to focus on her acting career and be there for her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Despite her busy schedule, Song was always passionate about education. She enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated in 2009 with a major in psychology and a minor in business. Now, she’s married to “Home Alone” star Macaulay Culkin, whom she has two children with.