Here's What Dakota Fanning Studied At School

In 2011, Dakota Fanning decided to enroll in New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Fanning majored in Women's Studies, which provided a strong foundation for her roles playing strong, independent women.

Fanning told Indiewire in 2015 that while juggling college with acting "been a balancing act for sure," she was able to have flexibility by attending Gallatin, where students are able to design their own interdisciplinary program.

Concentrating on Women's Studies allowed Fanning to study topics she often stressed in her acting career: "It's important to have diversity in the way that films portray women. There's not just one path that a woman should take; there's all different kinds of women."

She continued, explaining, "I've been lucky in that I feel like the films that I've done have been in line with what I believe, as far as women in film." Fanning believes that there needs to be more substantial roles available for women beyond the common female stereotype in Hollywood movies, not just the partner to the leading man, saying, "As a young woman, sometimes you know that the part that you're reading is just 'the girlfriend' to the guy in it — and sometimes that's great and totally fine, but there should also be more than that."

Fanning added, "A woman in her 20s is in this kind of limbo, and so [I look for parts] that aren't just about finding a relationship to be in."