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 full 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 good decision for students 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 report 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 decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients typically make around $20,916 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from New York University
University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the United States 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 graduates who receive their degree from the theater program make around $21,473 for their early career.
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 fairly large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the drama & theater arts program at Carnegie Mellon University make $11,795 more than the standard college grad 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.
After graduation, theater bachelor's recipients usually 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 students 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 University
Located in the 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 around $16,359 over the typical earnings of drama & theater arts graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of Notre Dame
American Musical and Dramatic Academy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $17,410 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from American Musical and Dramatic Academy
Chapman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Orange.
Drama & Theater Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Chapman University earn a boost of around $3,472 above the average earnings of drama & theater arts majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Chapman University
U-M is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the theater program earn around $17,577 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Iowa is a very large public university located in the city of Iowa City.
Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients generally earn about $22,225 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of Iowa
Located in the city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program report average early career earnings of $17,929.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Columbia College Chicago
SCAD is a large private not-for-profit college located in the midsize city of Savannah.
Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients typically earn about $20,532 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Savannah College of Art and Design
Located in the large 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 average theater graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from The University of Texas at Austin
Purchase College is a small public college located in the suburb of Purchase.
Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $18,090 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Purchase College
Syracuse is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Syracuse.
After graduation, theater bachelor's recipients usually make an average of $20,988 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Syracuse University
Located in the large 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 income of $22,021.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from DePaul University
Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population.
Soon after graduating, theater bachelor's recipients usually earn about $19,673 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of California - Los Angeles
Located in the midsize city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients usually earn an average of $18,431 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Florida State University
Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public university with a fairly 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.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Temple University
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 wages of $21,869.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Loyola Marymount University
Located in the midsize city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the theater program make an average of $16,318 for their early career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of Florida
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 make around $18,243 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Ithaca College
UC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Cincinnati.
Drama & Theater Arts bachelor's degree recipients from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus earn a boost of around $3,898 over the typical earnings of drama & theater arts majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the city of La Jolla.
Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients usually earn about $18,026 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of California - San Diego
This list shows the remainder of the schools awarded a Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college 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.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Theater Arts | 8,624 |
| Musical Theater | 1,150 |
| Acting | 1,072 |
| Theater Design & Technology | 662 |
| Playwriting & Screenwriting | 414 |
| Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft | 235 |
| Directing & Theatrical Production | 131 |
| Theatre and Dance | 109 |
| Comedy Writing and Performance | 44 |
| Theatre Literature, History & Criticism | 19 |
| 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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