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2024 Best Theatre and Dance Schools

6 Colleges in the United States
96 Theatre and Dance Degrees Awarded
You'll be studying one of the lesser sought-after majors if you pursue a degree in theatre and dance. It is ranked #984 out of 1506 major degree programs in terms of popularity. As such, your educational options may be more limited than if you were in a more popular field.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 6 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for theatre and dance students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 96 degrees in theatre and dance during the 2021-2022 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Theatre and Dance School

Best Theatre and Dance Schools Your choice of theatre and dance school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Theatre and Dance School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Theatre and Dance Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Theatre and Dance

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Theatre and Dance Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Theatre and Dance in the United States

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the theatre and dance degree levels they offer.

Top Schools in Theatre and Dance

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In TX
46 Theatre and Dance Degrees Awarded

The University of Texas at Austin is a great choice for students interested in a degree in theatre and dance. UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the city of Austin. A Best Colleges rank of #36 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.

There were approximately 46 theatre and dance students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in theatre and dance from The University of Texas at Austin

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NV
33.3% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Nevada - Reno if you want to pursue a degree in theatre and dance. Located in the large city of Reno, UNR is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #262 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNR is a great university overall.

There were about 3 theatre and dance students who graduated with this degree at UNR in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in theatre and dance from University of Nevada - Reno

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In OH

It is hard to beat University of Dayton if you want to pursue a degree in theatre and dance. Located in the city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #184 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UDayton is a great university overall.

There were approximately 3 theatre and dance students who graduated with this degree at UDayton in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in theatre and dance from University of Dayton

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type

Manhattanville College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in theatre and dance. Located in the suburb of Purchase, Manhattanville is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 53rd out of 142 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.More information about a degree in theatre and dance from Manhattanville College

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In WY

Located in the remote town of Laramie, UW is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 7 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wyoming.

There were approximately 16 theatre and dance students who graduated with this degree at UW in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in theatre and dance from University of Wyoming

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL

SIUE is a large public university located in the suburb of Edwardsville. This university ranks 31st out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 12 theatre and dance students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in theatre and dance from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Theatre and Dance by Region

View the Best Theatre and Dance Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

One of 11 majors within the Drama & Theater Arts area of study, Theatre and Dance has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Theater Arts11,323
Acting1,686
Musical Theater1,196
Theater Design & Technology1,072
Playwriting & Screenwriting814
Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft478
Directing & Theatrical Production232
Theatre Literature, History & Criticism54
Costume Design47
Comedy Writing and Performance41

View All Theatre and Dance Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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