by our College Data Analytics TeamCollege Factual looked at 384 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 9,342 bachelor's degrees in theater arts to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Your choice of theater arts for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for 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 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.
Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for theater arts students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Northwestern University is a great decision for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in theater arts. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from Northwestern University
University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in theater arts. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from University of Southern California
University of Notre Dame is a great option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in theater arts. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from University of Notre Dame
Carnegie Mellon University is a great decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in theater arts. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Pittsburgh.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from Carnegie Mellon University
NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from New York University
Emory is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Atlanta.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from Emory University
Yale is a large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of New Haven.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from Yale University
UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Austin.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from The University of Texas at Austin
Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from Boston University
UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from University of California - Los Angeles
Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from University of California - Berkeley
Located in the midsize city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from Chapman University
Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from University of California - Irvine
Located in the city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from Loyola Marymount University
Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
UCONN is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Storrs.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from University of Connecticut
UF is a very large public university located in the city of Gainesville.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from University of Florida
UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from University of Wisconsin - Madison
Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from University of Iowa
Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from University of California - San Diego
WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from Washington University in St Louis
Located in the remote town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from Dartmouth College
Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from Columbia University in the City of New York
Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from Duke University
Located in the city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in theater arts from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
This list represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Best Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 384 different United States theater arts schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ |
| 51 | Texas State University | San Marcos, TX |
| 52 | Webster University | Saint Louis, MO |
| 53 | Columbia College Chicago | Chicago, IL |
| 54 | University of Massachusetts Amherst | Amherst, MA |
| 55 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA |
| 56 | Indiana University - Bloomington | Bloomington, IN |
| 57 | Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, GA |
Here are some additional great schools for Theater Arts students that almost earned our Best Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 58 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 59 | Purchase College | Purchase, NY |
| 60 | The New School | New York, NY |
| 61 | Muhlenberg College | Allentown, PA |
| 62 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
| 63 | Drake University | Des Moines, IA |
| 64 | Baylor University | Waco, TX |
| 65 | Skidmore College | Saratoga Springs, NY |
| 66 | University of Oklahoma Norman Campus | Norman, OK |
| 67 | University of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT |
| 68 | Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus, OH |
| 69 | Millikin University | Decatur, IL |
| 70 | James Madison University | Harrisonburg, VA |
| 71 | Brigham Young University - Provo | Provo, UT |
| 72 | Point Park University | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 73 | Lindenwood University | Saint Charles, MO |
| 74 | Illinois State University | Normal, IL |
| 75 | Arizona State University - Tempe | Tempe, AZ |
| 76 | Kent State University at Kent | Kent, OH |
View the Best Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
One of 11 majors within the Drama & Theater Arts area of study, Theater Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Acting | 1,109 |
| Musical Theater | 911 |
| Theater Design & Technology | 661 |
| Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft | 470 |
| Playwriting & Screenwriting | 292 |
| Directing & Theatrical Production | 130 |
| Theatre and Dance | 94 |
| Theatre Literature, History & Criticism | 46 |
| Comedy Writing and Performance | 43 |
| Costume Design | 19 |
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