2025 Best Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools in New York
If you plan on getting your master's degree in
drama & theater arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #83 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
College Factual looked at 5 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools in New York ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 314 master's degrees in drama & theater arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Drama & Theater Arts School for Your Master's Degree
The theater master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality theater program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
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 for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on drama & theater arts students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of drama & theater arts students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How much debt drama & theater arts students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized drama & theater arts related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for drama & theater arts students working on their master's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools in New York ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Drama & Theater Arts in New York
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in drama & theater arts.
Top New York Schools for a Master's in Theater
Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in drama & theater arts has to take a look at New York University. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Those drama & theater arts students who get their master's degree from New York University receive $14,929 more than the standard theater grad.
More information about a master’s in drama & theater arts from New York University
Columbia University in the City of New York is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the theater program earn an average of $20,935 in their early career salary.
More information about a master’s in drama & theater arts from Columbia University in the City of New York
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in drama & theater arts needs to check out Pace University - New York. Located in the city of New York, Pace University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the theater program make around $19,232 for their early career.
More information about a master’s in drama & theater arts from Pace University - New York
Brooklyn College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in drama & theater arts. Brooklyn College is a large public college located in the city of Brooklyn.
Master's recipients from the drama & theater arts program at Brooklyn College earn $8,785 above the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in drama & theater arts from Brooklyn College
Located in the city of New York, Hunter is a public college with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in drama & theater arts from Hunter College