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2024 Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the New England Region

37 Colleges in the New England Region
985 Theater Degrees Awarded
$25,365 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in drama & theater arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #59 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 37 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the New England Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 985 degrees in drama & theater arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Drama & Theater Arts School

Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the New England Region Your choice of drama & theater arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for drama & theater arts schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Drama & Theater Arts Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Theater
Bachelor's Degrees in Theater
Master's Degrees in Theater
Doctor's Degrees in Theater

The theater school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the New England Region. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Drama & Theater Arts in the New England Region

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the theater degree levels they offer.

10 Top New England Region Schools in Theater

1
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$33,280 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat Yale University if you want to pursue a degree in drama & theater arts. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of New Haven. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Yale is a great university overall.

There were about 17 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent year we have data available. Those drama & theater arts students who get their degree from Yale University receive $7,915 more than the average theater grad.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Yale University

2
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
86 Theater Degrees Awarded
11.6% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat Boston University if you want to pursue a degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Boston U is a great university overall.

There were approximately 86 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent data year. After graduation, theater degree recipients generally make about $25,859 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Boston University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
37 Theater Degrees Awarded
$31,019 Median Starting Salary

University of Connecticut is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in drama & theater arts. UCONN is a very large public university located in the suburb of Storrs. A Best Colleges rank of #86 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCONN is a great university overall.

There were about 37 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UCONN in the most recent data year. Drama & Theater Arts degree recipients from University of Connecticut get an earnings boost of approximately $5,654 above the typical earnings of drama & theater arts graduates.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from University of Connecticut

4
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$22,550 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat Brown University if you want to pursue a degree in drama & theater arts. Brown is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Providence. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.

There were roughly 22 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the theater program state that they receive average early career earnings of $22,550.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Brown University

4
Dartmouth crest
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In NH

Every student who is interested in drama & theater arts has to check out Dartmouth College. Located in the remote town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #25 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Dartmouth is a great college overall.

There were approximately 8 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Dartmouth in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Dartmouth College

5
Emerson crest
Emerson College
Boston, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
143 Theater Degrees Awarded
3.5% Growth in Graduates

Emerson is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the large city of Boston. This college ranks 17th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were approximately 143 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Emerson in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the theater program state that they receive average early career wages of $22,766.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Emerson College

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In MA
8.3% Growth in Graduates

Brandeis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Waltham. A Best Colleges rank of #99 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Brandeis is a great university overall.

There were roughly 12 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Brandeis in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Brandeis University

7
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In MA
8.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Tufts is a great university overall.

There were approximately 12 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Tufts in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Tufts University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$25,695 Median Starting Salary

UMass Amherst is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Amherst. A Best Colleges rank of #81 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UMass Amherst is a great university overall.

There were about 23 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UMass Amherst in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the theater program earn an average of $25,695 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from University of Massachusetts Amherst

9
Boston College crest
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA

Located in the small city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #60 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Boston College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 14 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Boston College in the most recent data year. Drama & Theater Arts degree recipients from Boston College get an earnings boost of about $2,174 over the typical income of drama & theater arts graduates.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Boston College

Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best drama & theater arts schools for a specific state in the New England Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Massachusetts 301 569
Connecticut 241 182
New Hampshire 210 49
Maine 202 36
Rhode Island 200 82
Vermont 194 52

View All Rankings >

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Drama & Theater Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Theater Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Theater Arts 654
Musical Theater 90
Theater Design & Technology 79
Acting 71
Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft 38
Playwriting & Screenwriting 32
Directing & Theatrical Production 16
Theatre Literature, History & Criticism 5

View All Theater Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music 2,151
Fine & Studio Arts 2,034
Design & Applied Arts 1,952
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,367
Arts & Media Management 393
General Visual & Performing Arts 271
Dance 172
Other Visual Art 69
Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art 9
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 6

View All Theater Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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