2025 Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools
Drama & Theater Arts is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #38 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
College Factual reviewed 294 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of drama & theater arts. Combined, these schools handed out 12,468 bachelor's degrees in drama & theater arts to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Drama & Theater Arts School for Your Bachelor's Degree
Your choice of drama & theater arts for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality theater program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
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 ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
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 - How many other drama & theater arts students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
- 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 easy is it for drama & theater arts to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized drama & theater arts related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for drama & theater arts students working on their bachelor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Drama & Theater Arts in the United States
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Theater
Northwestern University is a wonderful choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program state that they receive average early career income of $19,245.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Northwestern University
New York University is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
After graduating, theater bachelor's recipients generally earn about $20,916 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from New York University
University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the theater program earn about $21,473 in their early career salary.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of Southern California
It is difficult to beat Carnegie Mellon University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the drama & theater arts program at Carnegie Mellon University earn $11,795 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Carnegie Mellon University
Located in the city of Boston, Emerson is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $19,560 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Emerson College
Iowa is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Iowa City.
Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients typically make an average of $22,225 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of Iowa
Located in the city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program state that they receive average early career wages of $17,929.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Columbia College Chicago
SCAD is a fairly large private not-for-profit college located in the city of Savannah.
Soon after graduating, theater bachelor's recipients generally earn about $20,532 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Savannah College of Art and Design
Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Those drama & theater arts students who get their bachelor's degree from The University of Texas at Austin receive $12,089 more than the standard theater graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from The University of Texas at Austin
Purchase College is a small public college located in the large suburb of Purchase.
Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients typically earn about $18,090 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Purchase College
Syracuse is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Syracuse.
Soon after graduating, theater bachelor's recipients typically make around $20,988 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Syracuse University
Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program state that they receive average early career earnings of $22,021.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from DePaul University
Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Soon after graduating, theater bachelor's recipients typically make an average of $19,673 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of California - Los Angeles
Located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a very large student population.
Soon after graduating, theater bachelor's recipients generally make around $18,431 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Florida State University
Located in the city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public university with a very large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program state that they receive average early career income of $19,269.
More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Temple University