2024 Best Dance Schools
179
Colleges in the United States
3,288
Dance Degrees Awarded
$22,085
Avg Early-Career Salary
Dance isn't the most popular major in the world, but it's not the least popular either. To be more precise it ranks #158 in popularity out of 395 majors in the country. So, it might take a little more work to find colleges and universities that offer the degree program.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 179 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Dance Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 3,288 degrees in dance to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Dance School
The dance program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Dance rankings. We derive our Best Overall Dance School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Pick Your Dance Degree Level
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Dance Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.
Best Schools for Dance in the United States
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the dance degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
25 Top Schools in Dance
Every student pursuing a degree in dance has to look into New York University. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #27 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 52 dance students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the dance major at New York University earn $7,236 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in dance from New York University
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
5th
Most Popular In GA
Every student pursuing a degree in dance has to look into Emory University. Located in the large city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Emory is a great university overall.
There were roughly 6 dance students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in dance from Emory University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
5th
Most Popular In NC
Duke University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in dance. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were about 9 dance students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in dance from Duke University
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
3rd
Most Popular In WI
Every student who is interested in dance needs to look into University of Wisconsin - Madison. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were about 10 dance students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in dance from University of Wisconsin - Madison
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
23rd
Most Popular In NY
Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were about 1 dance students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in dance from Columbia University in the City of New York
UC Irvine is a very large public university located in the city of Irvine. This university ranks 15th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 58 dance students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the dance program report average early career wages of $22,184.
More information about a degree in dance from University of California - Irvine
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In FL
41
Dance Degrees Awarded
Located in the midsize city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 77 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were roughly 41 dance students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in dance from University of Florida
Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.
There were approximately 8 dance students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in dance from Washington University in St Louis
USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were about 21 dance students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in dance from University of Southern California
Located in the suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were roughly 14 dance students who graduated with this degree at SMU in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in dance from Southern Methodist University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In WA
Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #37 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW Seattle is a great university overall.
There were about 21 dance students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in dance from University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In LA
Tulane is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New Orleans. This university ranks 1st out of 29 schools for overall quality in the state of Louisiana.
There were approximately 10 dance students who graduated with this degree at Tulane in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in dance from Tulane University of Louisiana
U of U is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Salt Lake City. This university ranks 3rd out of 13 schools for overall quality in the state of Utah.
There were roughly 53 dance students who graduated with this degree at U of U in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the dance program state that they receive average early career earnings of $20,152.
More information about a degree in dance from University of Utah
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In MI
U-M is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were about 13 dance students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in dance from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were about 33 dance students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the dance program make an average of $14,394 for their early career.
More information about a degree in dance from University of California - Los Angeles
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
14th
Most Popular In NY
Skidmore is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small suburb of Saratoga Springs. This college ranks 21st out of 142 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were approximately 8 dance students who graduated with this degree at Skidmore in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in dance from Skidmore College
Iowa is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Iowa City. This university ranks 2nd out of 40 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were approximately 24 dance students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year. Dance degree recipients from University of Iowa earn a boost of about $4,338 over the typical earnings of dance majors.
More information about a degree in dance from University of Iowa
Chapman is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Orange. This university ranks 32nd out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 25 dance students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, dance degree recipients typically make about $18,093 in their early careers.
More information about a degree in dance from Chapman University
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
4th
Most Popular In IL
Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 2 dance students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in dance from Northwestern University
Ohio State is a very large public university located in the large city of Columbus. This university ranks 2nd out of 96 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were roughly 34 dance students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the dance program earn around $21,123 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in dance from Ohio State University - Main Campus
Located in the city of New York, Juilliard is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
There were approximately 21 dance students who graduated with this degree at Juilliard in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the dance degree program at The Juilliard School make $5,109 above the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in dance from The Juilliard School
Located in the city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 5th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were about 20 dance students who graduated with this degree at TCU in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the dance program earn around $22,703 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a degree in dance from Texas Christian University
CSULB is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Long Beach. This university ranks 28th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 57 dance students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, dance degree recipients typically make about $21,620 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in dance from California State University - Long Beach
Located in the small city of San Marcos, Texas State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 20th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were roughly 45 dance students who graduated with this degree at Texas State in the most recent data year. Dance degree recipients from Texas State University earn a boost of approximately $11,995 over the average earnings of dance graduates.
More information about a degree in dance from Texas State University
Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #36 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.
There were approximately 19 dance students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the dance program earn about $17,719 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in dance from The University of Texas at Austin