Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft

Ranked by graduate earnings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard — updated 2026.

Programs tracked: 270

Avg grad salary: $27,591

Total graduates: 11,821

Top Colleges for Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft — Ranked by Graduate Earnings

Showing schools with reported earnings data. Earnings reflect median graduate salary 4 years after graduation (or 1 year where 4-year data is unavailable).

#	School	Median Salary (4yr)	Starting Salary (1yr)	Graduates	Median Debt	Admit Rate
1	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	$56,230	$37,531	57	$19,000	12.4%
2	CUNY Queens College Queens, NY	$45,005	$11,604	22	N/A	68.5%
3	University of Washington Seattle, WA	$44,357	$22,778	17	$15,638	42.5%
4	CUNY New York City College of Technology Brooklyn, NY	$41,484	$14,799	47	$6,000	80.7%
5	Chapman University Orange, CA	$40,640	$24,644	78	$22,500	55.6%
6	University of Oregon Eugene, OR	$40,075	$25,264	16	N/A	85.1%
7	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	$39,749	$22,225	36	$26,622	84.7%
8	College of Charleston Charleston, SC	$39,600	$21,645	37	$26,943	72.0%
9	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	$39,572	$28,933	36	$26,500	70.9%
10	Drew University Madison, NJ	$38,978	$13,710	26	$27,000	69.4%
11	Saint Edward's University Austin, TX	$38,383	$15,925	29	$26,000	83.7%
12	Emerson College Boston, MA	$38,227	$19,560	136	$25,000	47.5%
13	Saint Mary's College of California Moraga, CA	N/A	$38,160	18	$27,304	88.6%
14	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	$38,092	$21,869	97	$23,250	40.3%
15	UC San Diego La Jolla, CA	$37,883	$18,026	52	$14,650	24.5%
16	Portland State University Portland, OR	$37,709	$25,352	22	$39,773	90.9%
17	University of New Orleans New Orleans, LA	$37,524	$21,504	39	$21,987	66.8%
18	Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	$37,372	$36,557	16	$24,637	57.0%
19	Michigan State East Lansing, MI	$37,177	$17,328	47	$22,250	83.9%
20	UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	$37,108	$20,503	44	$16,852	27.8%
21	Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX	$36,563	$21,858	57	$22,250	85.4%
22	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	$36,466	$19,245	64	$17,000	7.1%
23	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	$36,418	$25,301	64	$19,606	90.2%
24	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	$36,403	$22,984	38	$27,000	88.8%
25	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO	$36,157	$19,966	41	$27,500	77.8%
26	Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX	$36,116	$29,945	50	$26,000	88.3%
27	University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN	$35,799	$19,982	66	$23,250	77.0%
28	SUNY College at Potsdam Potsdam, NY	$35,579	$22,873	21	$26,208	85.5%
29	University of North Texas Denton, TX	$35,441	$28,236	83	$25,000	72.5%
30	Ramapo College of New Jersey Mahwah, NJ	$35,432	$15,372	26	$20,620	73.2%
31	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ	$35,429	$23,043	31	$21,966	91.0%
32	Otterbein University Westerville, OH	$35,396	$12,546	20	$26,822	83.3%
33	University of Georgia Athens, GA	$35,389	$20,762	17	$19,399	37.2%
34	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN	$35,365	$26,751	40	$27,000	81.8%
35	UC Davis Davis, CA	$35,213	$19,398	27	$13,000	41.6%
36	University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD	$35,154	$33,852	16	N/A	99.0%
37	American University Washington, DC	$34,893	$23,979	26	$24,989	47.4%
38	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA	$34,671	$22,447	70	$21,875	93.1%
39	Fordham University Bronx, NY	$34,556	$14,133	34	$27,000	56.3%
40	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO	$34,498	$28,901	17	$28,281	99.1%
41	Texas State University San Marcos, TX	$34,279	$26,045	164	$21,500	89.5%
42	North Central College Naperville, IL	$34,270	$20,416	21	$21,000	58.3%
43	University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA	$34,270	$22,289	32	$24,875	94.4%
44	Elon University Elon, NC	$34,132	$24,345	18	N/A	67.3%
45	University of Maryland College Park, MD	$34,060	$17,985	35	$20,681	44.8%
46	SUNY at Purchase College Purchase, NY	$33,861	$18,090	171	$26,000	72.8%
47	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO	$33,759	$22,369	47	$25,250	91.0%
48	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	$33,757	$18,002	32	$25,414	53.9%
49	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	$33,757	$18,002	32	$25,414	86.5%
50	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	$33,757	$18,002	32	$25,414	86.5%
51	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT	$33,757	$18,002	32	$25,414	80.2%
52	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	$33,757	$18,002	32	$25,414	87.0%
53	Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL	$33,587	$23,517	32	$27,000	70.5%
54	Lindenwood University Saint Charles, MO	$33,381	$25,083	24	$27,000	65.9%
55	UT Austin Austin, TX	N/A	$33,261	38	$26,000	29.1%
56	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA	N/A	$33,169	16	N/A	74.6%
57	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE	$33,169	$21,627	38	$23,250	77.1%
58	Alabama State University Montgomery, AL	$33,076	$17,997	21	$31,000	95.6%
59	University of Southern Indiana Evansville, IN	$33,029	$27,010	26	$20,937	94.7%
60	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	$33,006	$25,059	24	N/A	54.0%

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median among graduates who received federal financial aid.

Choosing the Best Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft Program

Graduate Earnings

Median salary 4 years post-graduation measures the long-term ROI of a program. Higher earnings with lower debt means better financial outcomes.

Program Size

Graduate count signals program maturity. Larger programs often have stronger alumni networks and more job placement resources.

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio

Compare median debt against starting salary. A ratio below 1x means most graduates can repay loans within a year of earnings.

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