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2025 Best Dance Schools in New York

14 Colleges in New York
498 Dance Degrees Awarded
$23,682 Avg Early-Career Salary
When it comes to popularity, dance sits in the middle of the road, ranking #158 out of 395 majors in the country. As such, the degree program isn't offered at every college in the United States, but there are schools that do have a program in the field that are top-notch when it comes to quality.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 14 schools in New York to determine which ones were the best for dance students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 498 degrees in dance to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Dance School

Best Dance Schools in New York The dance program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Dance rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for dance schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Dance Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Dance
Bachelor's Degrees in Dance
Master's Degrees in Dance

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 Dance Schools in New York list to help you make the college 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 Dance in New York

The schools below may not offer all types of dance degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top New York Schools in Dance

1
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
74 Dance Degrees Awarded
29.7% Growth in Graduates

New York University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in dance. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.

There were about 74 dance students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available. Dance degree recipients from New York University receive an earnings boost of about $12,874 over the average income of dance graduates.

More information about a degree in dance from New York University

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
37 Dance Degrees Awarded
$21,880 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in dance has to look into Marymount Manhattan College. MMC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large city of New York. This college ranks 35th out of 136 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were about 37 dance students who graduated with this degree at MMC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the dance program state that they receive average early career income of $21,880.

More information about a degree in dance from Marymount Manhattan College

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$15,881 Median Starting Salary
$140,223 Median Student Debt

American Musical and Dramatic Academy is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in dance. American Musical and Dramatic Academy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

Students who graduate with their degree from the dance program state that they receive average early career wages of $15,881.

More information about a degree in dance from American Musical and Dramatic Academy

4
Purchase College crest
Purchase College
Purchase, NY
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
56 Dance Degrees Awarded
64.3% Growth in Graduates

Purchase College is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in dance. Purchase College is a small public college located in the large suburb of Purchase. This college ranks 53rd out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were approximately 56 dance students who graduated with this degree at Purchase College in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the dance program make an average of $12,039 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in dance from Purchase College

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$20,381 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Bronx, Fordham U is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #67 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Fordham U is a great university overall.

There were approximately 25 dance students who graduated with this degree at Fordham U in the most recent data year. After graduation, dance degree recipients usually make an average of $20,381 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in dance from Fordham University

6

Located in the large suburb of Buffalo, University at Buffalo is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #171 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means University at Buffalo is a great university overall.

There were about 20 dance students who graduated with this degree at University at Buffalo in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the dance program report average early career income of $17,110.

More information about a degree in dance from University at Buffalo

7
Juilliard crest
The Juilliard School
New York, NY
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$14,220 Median Starting Salary

Juilliard is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

There were about 21 dance students who graduated with this degree at Juilliard in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the dance program state that they receive average early career wages of $14,220.

More information about a degree in dance from The Juilliard School

8
Nazareth crest
Nazareth College
Rochester, NY
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
16th Most Popular In NY

Nazareth is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Rochester. This college ranks 88th out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were approximately 2 dance students who graduated with this degree at Nazareth in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in dance from Nazareth College

9
Hofstra crest
Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In NY
23.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Hempstead, Hofstra is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #285 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Hofstra is a great university overall.

There were roughly 17 dance students who graduated with this degree at Hofstra in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in dance from Hofstra University

10
Hunter crest
Hunter College
New York, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In NY

Located in the large city of New York, Hunter is a public college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #296 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Hunter is a great college overall.

There were roughly 16 dance students who graduated with this degree at Hunter in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in dance from Hunter College

Best Dance Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Dance Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 334 290
Maryland 279 30
New Jersey 273 92
District of Columbia 188 14

View All Rankings >

Dance is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.

Dance Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Dance 447
Other Dance 47
Ballet 4

View All Dance Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 4,369
Fine & Studio Arts 3,544
Drama & Theater Arts 3,142
Music 2,523
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 2,173
Arts & Media Management 595
General Visual & Performing Arts 549
Other Visual Art 473

View All Dance Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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