College Rankings

Best Theatre Arts Schools

The top 25 of 267 U.S. colleges offering an undergraduate Theatre Arts degree, ranked by early-career earnings and return on investment — using each school's real, aid-adjusted net price rather than sticker tuition.

Is Theatre Arts worth it?

Financially, a theatre degree is notoriously risky, but it can absolutely pay off if you are strategic about where you study. Because starting salaries in the performing arts are modest and work is heavily gig-based, the math only works if you avoid crushing student debt. The clear winners in this field are ultra-low-cost public universities located right next to major entertainment hubs, allowing students to hustle for internships and auditions without taking out massive loans. If you aren't attending a wealthy private school with an elite alumni network, your best bet is a cheap state school in New York, California, or a regional theater hotspot where you can graduate with a clean slate.

Filter by state

#	School	State	Score	Median earnings	Net price / yr	10-yr net ROI
1	University of Notre Dame	IN	38	$37,531	$26,780	+$268K
2	CUNY Hunter College	NY	38	$25,059	$2,984†	+$239K
3	Southern Utah University	UT	37	$27,335	$10,462†	+$232K
4	Utah Valley University	UT	34	$23,896	$6,376†	+$213K
5	CUNY Queens College	NY	34	$11,604	$4,195†	+$99K
6	CUNY Brooklyn College	NY	33	$20,645	$3,103†	+$194K
7	Portland State University	OR	32	$25,352	$9,552†	+$215K
8	Saint Mary's College of California	CA	31	$38,160	$30,378	+$260K
9	Stephen F Austin State University	TX	30	$29,945	$14,260†	+$242K
10	California State University-Dominguez Hills	CA	30	$25,920	$8,615†	+$225K
11	Northern Arizona University	AZ	30	$23,043	$14,158†	+$174K
12	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	30	$19,966	$11,900†	+$152K
13	California State University-Los Angeles	CA	30	$16,645	$3,967†	+$151K
14	Ohio University-Eastern Campus	OH	30	$15,602	$3,925†	+$140K
15	The University of Texas at Austin	TX	29	$33,261	$19,857†	+$253K
16	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania	PA	29	$33,169	$19,608†	+$253K
17	Rhode Island College	RI	29	$24,526	$9,478†	+$207K
18	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus	OH	29	$15,602	$5,755†	+$133K
19	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus	OH	29	$15,602	$5,650†	+$133K
20	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus	OH	29	$15,602	$5,746†	+$133K
21	University of South Florida	FL	28	$24,732	$9,812†	+$208K
22	California State University-Fullerton	CA	28	$18,182	$6,555†	+$156K
23	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	TX	28	$16,706	$4,831†	+$148K
24	University of Florida	FL	28	$16,318	$6,541†	+$137K
25	Ohio University-Southern Campus	OH	28	$15,602	$5,993†	+$132K
26	CUNY City College	NY	28	$15,098	$3,776†	+$136K
27	CUNY New York City College of Technology	NY	28	$14,799	$5,127†	+$127K
28	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC	27	$26,457	$11,655†	+$218K
29	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	WI	27	$24,412	$14,158†	+$187K
30	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	WA	27	$22,778	$14,091†	+$171K
31	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	27	$22,429	$10,359†	+$183K
32	California State University-Northridge	CA	27	$17,524	$7,021†	+$147K
33	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA	26	$36,557	$24,953†	+$266K
34	Texas Tech University	TX	26	$28,933	$19,070†	+$213K
35	University of North Texas	TX	26	$28,236	$15,649†	+$220K
36	Missouri Western State University	MO	26	$26,929	$13,251†	+$216K
37	University of West Florida	FL	26	$23,852	$9,364†	+$201K
38	University of Central Florida	FL	26	$23,708	$10,411†	+$195K
39	California State University-Sacramento	CA	26	$23,000	$9,338†	+$193K
40	California State University-Fresno	CA	26	$18,082	$7,000†	+$153K
41	Manhattan School of Music	NY	25	$29,400	$51,754	+$87K
42	Carthage College	WI	25	$28,727	$26,565	+$181K
43	Gustavus Adolphus College	MN	25	$28,601	$22,900	+$194K
44	Colorado State University-Fort Collins	CO	25	$28,172	$21,279†	+$197K
45	The University of Texas at Arlington	TX	25	$26,474	$13,951†	+$209K
46	University of Wyoming	WY	25	$26,053	$13,599†	+$206K
47	University of Wisconsin-Parkside	WI	25	$25,306	$11,772†	+$206K
48	Northern Kentucky University	KY	25	$19,929	$8,191†	+$167K
49	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	NM	25	$17,980	$8,889†	+$144K
50	University of South Dakota	SD	24	$33,852	$19,858†	+$259K
51	Metropolitan State University of Denver	CO	24	$28,901	$15,327†	+$228K
52	University of the Incarnate Word	TX	24	$27,295	$22,775	+$182K
53	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	IL	24	$27,004	$13,297†	+$217K
54	University of Alabama at Birmingham	AL	24	$26,670	$18,749†	+$192K
55	Youngstown State University	OH	24	$24,933	$12,767†	+$198K
56	Ohio State University-Lima Campus	OH	24	$23,920	$12,940†	+$187K
57	Northern Illinois University	IL	24	$23,517	$13,391†	+$182K
58	Western Kentucky University	KY	24	$22,884	$10,990†	+$185K
59	SUNY College at Potsdam	NY	24	$22,873	$13,624†	+$174K
60	Southern Illinois University Edwardsville	IL	24	$16,892	$14,889†	+$109K
61	Illinois State University	IL	23	$28,958	$19,398†	+$212K
62	Texas State University	TX	23	$26,045	$16,805†	+$193K
63	Pacific Lutheran University	WA	23	$25,754	$19,589	+$179K
64	Kent State University at Trumbull	OH	23	$24,565	$11,135†	+$201K
65	Utah State University	UT	23	$23,341	$14,936†	+$174K
66	Florida International University	FL	23	$20,113	$9,288†	+$164K
67	University of California-Davis	CA	23	$19,398	$14,741†	+$135K
68	University of California-San Diego	CA	23	$18,026	$12,470†	+$130K
69	Carnegie Mellon University	PA	22	$32,967	$31,944	+$202K
70	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	22	$32,142	$25,346†	+$220K
71	Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi	TX	22	$25,050	$15,225†	+$190K
72	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	22	$24,871	$17,447†	+$179K
73	Rutgers University-Camden	NJ	22	$24,770	$18,745†	+$173K
74	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	22	$24,770	$24,406†	+$150K
75	Rutgers University-Newark	NJ	22	$24,770	$19,703†	+$169K
76	University of California-Berkeley	CA	22	$22,610	$13,481†	+$172K
77	University of Northern Iowa	IA	22	$22,289	$15,901†	+$159K
78	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	22	$22,159	$14,355†	+$164K
79	Sam Houston State University	TX	22	$21,858	$16,404†	+$153K
80	University of New Orleans	LA	22	$21,504	$12,384†	+$166K
81	North Carolina A & T State University	NC	22	$20,996	$10,846†	+$167K
82	University of Central Missouri	MO	22	$18,403	$14,462†	+$126K
83	Oakland University	MI	22	$15,579	$9,120†	+$119K
84	Oberlin College	OH	22	$12,441	$38,645	−$30K
85	University of Minnesota-Duluth	MN	21	$26,751	$18,743†	+$193K
86	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	21	$25,301	$14,967†	+$193K
87	West Texas A & M University	TX	21	$25,036	$19,487†	+$172K
88	Nebraska Wesleyan University	NE	21	$23,649	$18,327	+$163K
89	University of Evansville	IN	21	$23,407	$18,499	+$160K
90	San Francisco State University	CA	21	$23,004	$12,278†	+$181K
91	George Mason University	VA	21	$22,984	$17,915†	+$158K
92	Western Carolina University	NC	21	$21,824	$13,315†	+$165K
93	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	21	$21,627	$17,747†	+$145K
94	Florida Atlantic University	FL	21	$18,452	$8,752†	+$150K
95	Dean College	MA	20	$29,639	$30,684	+$174K
96	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks	PA	20	$27,886	$24,356†	+$181K
97	University of Southern Indiana	IN	20	$27,010	$12,923†	+$218K
98	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	OK	20	$26,753	$15,300†	+$206K
99	University at Buffalo	NY	20	$25,810	$20,995†	+$174K
100	University of Arkansas	AR	20	$25,499	$18,209†	+$182K
101	University of Oregon	OR	20	$25,264	$22,182†	+$164K
102	Lindenwood University	MO	20	$25,083	$19,638	+$172K
103	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	20	$23,920	$17,339†	+$170K
104	Ball State University	IN	20	$23,748	$14,940†	+$178K
105	Suffolk University	MA	20	$23,189	$29,618	+$113K
106	Flagler College	FL	20	$23,099	$30,525	+$109K
107	Plymouth State University	NH	20	$22,489	$19,216†	+$148K
108	Miami University-Oxford	OH	20	$22,434	$28,384†	+$111K
109	Florida Southern College	FL	20	$22,336	$28,551	+$109K
110	Anderson University	SC	20	$21,767	$23,544	+$123K
111	University of Toledo	OH	20	$21,685	$17,249†	+$148K
112	East Carolina University	NC	20	$21,295	$15,739†	+$150K
113	Brigham Young University	UT	20	$21,047	$15,564	+$148K
114	University of Georgia	GA	20	$20,762	$13,936†	+$152K
115	University of Utah	UT	20	$20,701	$16,200†	+$142K
116	Southern Oregon University	OR	20	$20,668	$16,732†	+$140K
117	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	20	$20,503	$16,109†	+$141K
118	SUNY Buffalo State University	NY	20	$19,608	$11,346†	+$151K
119	Florida State University	FL	20	$18,431	$11,297†	+$139K
120	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	NC	20	$18,154	$10,965†	+$138K
121	Brigham Young University-Idaho	ID	20	$16,587	$8,221	+$133K
122	University of Illinois Chicago	IL	20	$14,938	$10,974†	+$105K
123	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	19	$27,886	$32,875†	+$147K
124	University of Arizona	AZ	19	$26,048	$16,674†	+$194K
125	Central Washington University	WA	19	$24,674	$18,476†	+$173K
126	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	19	$22,369	$17,613†	+$153K
127	University of Iowa	IA	19	$22,225	$22,531†	+$132K
128	College of Charleston	SC	19	$21,645	$18,960†	+$141K
129	Seton Hill University	PA	19	$21,239	$22,204	+$124K
130	Auburn University	AL	19	$20,899	$24,323†	+$112K
131	Oklahoma City University	OK	19	$20,696	$22,857	+$116K
132	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	WI	19	$20,455	$15,014†	+$144K
133	Augustana College	IL	19	$20,326	$22,736	+$112K
134	Susquehanna University	PA	19	$20,259	$28,819	+$87K
135	Belhaven University	MS	19	$19,931	$15,676	+$137K
136	Viterbo University	WI	19	$19,930	$21,260	+$114K
137	State University of New York at Oswego	NY	19	$19,673	$16,236†	+$132K
138	University of Rhode Island	RI	19	$19,551	$21,440†	+$110K
139	California State University-Long Beach	CA	19	$19,231	$10,440†	+$151K
140	Wayne State University	MI	19	$18,750	$12,766†	+$136K
141	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus	CT	19	$18,002	$10,875†	+$137K
142	University of Maryland-College Park	MD	19	$17,985	$15,678†	+$117K
143	Middle Tennessee State University	TN	19	$17,860	$13,359†	+$125K
144	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	18	$25,070	$25,648†	+$148K
145	University of Northern Colorado	CO	18	$24,761	$17,760†	+$177K
146	Millikin University	IL	18	$24,013	$21,989	+$152K
147	University of California-Santa Cruz	CA	18	$21,638	$17,890†	+$145K
148	University of North Carolina School of the Arts	NC	18	$21,229	$14,906†	+$153K
149	Colorado Mesa University	CO	18	$21,173	$15,103†	+$151K
150	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point	WI	18	$20,903	$14,559†	+$151K
151	Indiana University-Bloomington	IN	18	$20,815	$16,264†	+$143K
152	SUNY at Fredonia	NY	18	$20,453	$15,897†	+$141K
153	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	18	$19,673	$12,548†	+$147K
154	University of Northwestern-St Paul	MN	18	$19,541	$27,705	+$85K
155	Ohio Northern University	OH	18	$19,167	$24,478	+$94K
156	Binghamton University	NY	18	$18,920	$21,620†	+$103K
157	SUNY Oneonta	NY	18	$18,740	$19,158†	+$111K
158	Piedmont University	GA	18	$18,680	$20,599	+$104K
159	Long Island University	NY	18	$18,671	$33,062	+$54K
160	Montclair State University	NJ	18	$18,474	$15,566†	+$122K
161	Ouachita Baptist University	AR	18	$18,350	$22,409	+$94K
162	SUNY at Purchase College	NY	18	$18,090	$18,913†	+$105K
163	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	18	$18,052	$15,435†	+$119K
164	Alabama State University	AL	18	$17,997	$20,435†	+$98K
165	University of Maryland-Baltimore County	MD	18	$17,381	$16,467†	+$108K
166	University of Central Oklahoma	OK	18	$17,272	$18,309†	+$99K
167	East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania	PA	18	$17,055	$18,134†	+$98K
168	Northwestern State University of Louisiana	LA	18	$16,973	$13,606†	+$115K
169	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University	FL	18	$16,695	$13,739†	+$112K
170	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus	NH	17	$24,830	$23,805†	+$153K
171	Minnesota State University-Mankato	MN	17	$24,671	$19,139†	+$170K
172	Chapman University	CA	17	$24,644	$46,555	+$60K
173	Kent State University at Kent	OH	17	$24,565	$20,787†	+$163K
174	Elon University	NC	17	$24,345	$41,555	+$77K
175	James Madison University	VA	17	$24,306	$23,322†	+$150K
176	Western Washington University	WA	17	$24,258	$21,193†	+$158K
177	Western Connecticut State University	CT	17	$24,150	$17,604†	+$171K
178	American University	DC	17	$23,979	$41,943	+$72K
179	Kennesaw State University	GA	17	$21,556	$15,048†	+$155K
180	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	17	$21,189	$18,976†	+$136K
181	University of Kentucky	KY	17	$20,937	$18,851†	+$134K
182	Radford University	VA	17	$20,666	$14,578†	+$148K
183	University of California-Irvine	CA	17	$20,461	$14,251†	+$148K
184	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	LA	17	$20,290	$19,151†	+$126K
185	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	17	$19,982	$16,778†	+$133K
186	Towson University	MD	17	$19,871	$17,413†	+$129K
187	Northwestern University	IL	17	$19,245	$29,167	+$76K
188	Columbus State University	GA	17	$18,769	$13,115†	+$135K
189	Wright State University-Main Campus	OH	17	$18,666	$15,415†	+$125K
190	University of Connecticut-Avery Point	CT	17	$18,002	$13,807†	+$125K
191	Central Michigan University	MI	17	$17,962	$17,597†	+$109K
192	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	17	$17,577	$13,138†	+$123K
193	The University of Tampa	FL	17	$17,196	$36,211	+$27K
194	Molloy University	NY	17	$17,050	$24,347	+$73K
195	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus	NJ	17	$16,666	$15,404	+$105K
196	Bennington College	VT	17	$16,579	$30,947	+$42K
197	University of Miami	FL	17	$16,561	$37,244	+$17K
198	Stephens College	MO	17	$16,476	$23,459	+$71K
199	Skidmore College	NY	17	$16,417	$32,297	+$35K
200	University of Puget Sound	WA	17	$16,310	$38,394	+$10K
201	Drew University	NJ	17	$13,710	$24,280	+$40K
202	University of West Georgia	GA	17	$13,357	$12,786†	+$82K
203	University of Southern Maine	ME	17	$12,960	$13,596†	+$75K
204	Southern Methodist University	TX	16	$23,831	$40,892	+$75K
205	Rollins College	FL	16	$23,664	$34,732	+$98K
206	Point Park University	PA	16	$23,147	$25,942	+$128K
207	Western Michigan University	MI	16	$21,585	$15,273†	+$155K
208	Boston University	MA	16	$21,508	$24,402	+$117K
209	Winthrop University	SC	16	$20,600	$15,343†	+$145K
210	San Diego State University	CA	16	$20,538	$15,364†	+$144K
211	University of Memphis	TN	16	$19,055	$12,397†	+$141K
212	Coastal Carolina University	SC	16	$16,862	$13,966†	+$113K
213	Ramapo College of New Jersey	NJ	16	$15,372	$18,173†	+$81K
214	Nazareth University	NY	15	$23,511	$29,357	+$118K
215	California Institute of the Arts	CA	15	$22,673	$46,080	+$42K
216	Virginia Commonwealth University	VA	15	$22,447	$23,433†	+$131K
217	DePaul University	IL	15	$22,021	$30,902	+$97K
218	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	OH	15	$21,900	$24,022†	+$123K
219	Loyola Marymount University	CA	15	$21,869	$48,381	+$25K
220	State University of New York at New Paltz	NY	15	$21,800	$18,809†	+$143K
221	Grand Canyon University	AZ	15	$21,760	$22,472	+$128K
222	Syracuse University	NY	15	$20,988	$38,793	+$55K
223	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	PA	15	$20,818	$16,804†	+$141K
224	University of North Carolina Wilmington	NC	15	$20,450	$20,109†	+$124K
225	North Central College	IL	15	$20,416	$21,044	+$120K
226	Appalachian State University	NC	15	$20,256	$16,836†	+$135K
227	University of Idaho	ID	15	$19,880	$14,831†	+$139K
228	University of Connecticut-Stamford	CT	15	$18,002	$16,798†	+$113K
229	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus	CT	15	$18,002	$16,403†	+$114K
230	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	15	$17,964	$15,489†	+$118K
231	Michigan State University	MI	15	$17,328	$19,680†	+$95K
232	Saint Edward's University	TX	15	$15,925	$25,578	+$57K
233	Otterbein University	OH	15	$12,546	$19,237	+$49K
234	University of Southern California	CA	14	$21,473	$32,740	+$84K
235	Texas Christian University	TX	14	$21,221	$36,660	+$66K
236	Roosevelt University	IL	14	$21,001	$20,194	+$129K
237	New York University	NY	14	$20,916	$37,050	+$61K
238	Savannah College of Art and Design	GA	14	$20,532	$49,430	+$8K
239	Baylor University	TX	14	$20,267	$41,104	+$38K
240	Drake University	IA	14	$19,613	$29,127	+$80K
241	The University of Alabama	AL	14	$19,543	$22,420†	+$106K
242	Illinois Wesleyan University	IL	14	$19,490	$28,199	+$82K
243	Vassar College	NY	14	$19,339	$39,343	+$36K
244	Temple University	PA	14	$19,269	$28,198†	+$80K
245	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus	NJ	14	$16,666	$22,829	+$75K
246	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	14	$15,602	$21,637†	+$69K
247	University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras	PR	14	$7,652	$9,175†	+$40K
248	Marymount Manhattan College	NY	13	$19,562	$36,861	+$48K
249	Emerson College	MA	13	$19,560	$49,180	−$1K
250	Rowan University	NJ	13	$18,558	$22,408†	+$96K
251	Ithaca College	NY	13	$18,243	$33,926	+$47K
252	University of Connecticut	CT	13	$18,002	$25,097†	+$80K
253	Columbia College Chicago	IL	13	$17,929	$26,598	+$73K
254	Shenandoah University	VA	13	$17,818	$30,298	+$57K
255	Wagner College	NY	13	$17,478	$28,241	+$62K
256	DeSales University	PA	13	$17,377	$31,643	+$47K
257	Muhlenberg College	PA	13	$17,150	$28,905	+$56K
258	Georgia Southern University	GA	13	$16,586	$15,267†	+$105K
259	Webster University	MO	13	$13,182	$27,047	+$24K
260	American Musical and Dramatic Academy	NY	12	$17,410	$41,416	+$8K
261	Arcadia University	PA	12	$17,203	$29,466	+$54K
262	The New School	NY	12	$17,113	$58,741	−$64K
263	Pace University	NY	12	$16,659	$30,892	+$43K
264	Baldwin Wallace University	OH	12	$16,055	$27,603	+$50K
265	Hofstra University	NY	12	$15,474	$34,176	+$18K
266	Adelphi University	NY	12	$14,867	$30,783	+$26K
267	Fordham University	NY	12	$14,133	$44,338	−$36K

Top 10 programs by 10-year net ROI

How to read this: Median earnings = typical pay one year after graduation. Net price = average annual cost after grant aid, incl. living costs — not sticker tuition. 10-yr net ROI = ten years of earnings minus four years of net price. Score = the CollegeRanked Score (0–100) that sets the order — it blends ROI with longer-run earnings, job demand and automation resilience, so a school can outrank one with a slightly higher 10-yr ROI. † = public university — net price shown is the in-state cost; out-of-state students pay more. See the full methodology.

Why these schools rank where they do

The University of Notre Dame takes the #1 spot not just because of the stage, but because of the boardroom. Its Film, Television, and Theatre (FTT) program is backed by an incredibly wealthy, fiercely loyal alumni network that pipelines graduates into elite talent agencies, major Hollywood studios, and Broadway production offices. Furthermore, many Notre Dame theatre grads leverage the university's overall prestige to land high-paying corporate roles in communications, marketing, and consulting, driving up the program's average earnings.

The most fascinating story on this list, however, is the absolute dominance of regional public schools with built-in industry pipelines. Southern Utah University ranks #3 because it is the home of the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival. Students work directly alongside Actors' Equity professionals and veteran stage managers before they even graduate, giving them a massive resume advantage. Similarly, the CUNY system dominates the top tier—with Hunter, Queens, and Brooklyn colleges all landing in the top six. These schools offer an unbeatable combination: dirt-cheap tuition and a MetroCard ride to Broadway, allowing students to intern at major theater companies and audition in the world's biggest market without drowning in debt.

What is Theatre Arts?

Theatre Arts is the study of live performance, encompassing everything from acting and directing to stage management, lighting design, and dramatic writing. Graduates don't just memorize lines; they build careers running backstage crews, producing regional theater, designing sets for film and television, or applying their high-level presentation and project management skills to arts administration and casting.

Frequently asked questions

Does location matter for a theatre degree?

More than almost any other major. Attending school in New York, Los Angeles, or a city with a major League of Resident Theatres (LORT) presence means you can audition, intern, and network year-round. If you study in an isolated town without a professional theater scene, you are largely limited to summer stock programs to build your industry connections.

Should I get a BA or a BFA?

A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a highly structured, conservatory-style degree focused almost entirely on performance or design, while a Bachelor of Arts (BA) includes a broader liberal arts education. If you are dead-set on being a working actor or specialized designer, a BFA offers rigorous, hours-intensive training. However, a BA makes it much easier to double-major in a field like business, marketing, or education, which can provide a highly valuable financial safety net.

What if I don't want to be an actor?

You are actually in a stronger position, because the most reliable money in the entertainment industry is usually backstage. Graduates who focus on stage management, technical direction, sound and lighting design, and arts administration tend to find consistent, salaried employment much faster than those relying on casting calls and contract work.