by our College Data Analytics TeamCollege Factual reviewed 294 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of drama & theater arts. Combined, these schools handed out 12,468 bachelor's degrees in drama & theater arts to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Your choice of drama & theater arts for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality theater program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for drama & theater arts students working on their bachelor's degree.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.
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.
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Northwestern University is a wonderful choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program state that they receive average early career income of $19,245.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Northwestern University
New York University is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
After graduating, theater bachelor's recipients generally earn about $20,916 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from New York University
University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the theater program earn about $21,473 in their early career salary.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of Southern California
It is difficult to beat Carnegie Mellon University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the drama & theater arts program at Carnegie Mellon University earn $11,795 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Carnegie Mellon University
Located in the city of Boston, Emerson is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $19,560 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Emerson College
Boston U is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the theater program earn about $21,508 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Boston UniversityLocated in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. Drama & Theater Arts bachelor's degree recipients from University of Notre Dame receive an earnings boost of about $16,359 over the typical income of drama & theater arts majors. American Musical and Dramatic Academy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York. After graduation, theater bachelor's recipients usually earn around $17,410 in their early careers. Chapman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Orange. Drama & Theater Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Chapman University get an earnings boost of about $3,472 over the typical income of drama & theater arts majors. U-M is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor. Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the theater program make about $17,577 in the first couple years of working.7
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Annual Graduates$17,577
Median Starting Salary
Iowa is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Iowa City.
Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients typically make an average of $22,225 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of IowaLocated in the city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program state that they receive average early career wages of $17,929. SCAD is a fairly large private not-for-profit college located in the city of Savannah. Soon after graduating, theater bachelor's recipients generally earn about $20,532 in their early careers. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a fairly large student population. Those drama & theater arts students who get their bachelor's degree from The University of Texas at Austin receive $12,089 more than the standard theater graduate. Purchase College is a small public college located in the large suburb of Purchase. Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients typically earn about $18,090 at the beginning of their careers.12
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Annual Graduates$33,261
Median Starting Salary15
Syracuse is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Syracuse.
Soon after graduating, theater bachelor's recipients typically make around $20,988 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Syracuse UniversityLocated in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program state that they receive average early career earnings of $22,021. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population. Soon after graduating, theater bachelor's recipients typically make an average of $19,673 at the beginning of their careers. Located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a very large student population. Soon after graduating, theater bachelor's recipients generally make around $18,431 in the first five years of their career. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public university with a very large student population. Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program state that they receive average early career income of $19,269.17
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Annual Graduates$18,431
Median Starting Salary20
Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program state that they receive average early career earnings of $21,869.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Loyola Marymount UniversityLocated in the midsize city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a very large student population. Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the theater program make an average of $16,318 for their early career. Ithaca is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small suburb of Ithaca. Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the theater program earn about $18,243 in their early career salary. UC is a very large public university located in the large city of Cincinnati. Drama & Theater Arts bachelor's degree recipients from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus earn a boost of approximately $3,898 over the typical income of drama & theater arts majors. UCSD is a very large public university located in the city of La Jolla. After graduation, theater bachelor's recipients generally make about $18,026 in the first five years of their career.22
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Annual Graduates$16,318
Median Starting Salary2355
Annual Graduates$18,243
Median Starting Salary24
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Annual Graduates$18,026
Median Starting Salary
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This list represents the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools badge.
Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 20% of the 294 different United States drama & theater arts schools we analyzed.Rank College Location 51 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ 52 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY 53 University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 54 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH 55 University of California - Davis Davis, CA 56 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ 57 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 58 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
Here are some additional great schools for Drama & Theater Arts students that almost earned our Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
View the Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
Drama & Theater Arts is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Fine & Studio Arts | 23,952 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 19,777 |
| Music | 15,299 |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 12,664 |
| General Visual & Performing Arts | 4,199 |
| Arts & Media Management | 2,899 |
| Dance | 2,650 |
| Other Visual Art | 483 |
| Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry | 61 |
| Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art | 6 |
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