by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 62 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for musical theater students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 1,196 degrees in musical theater to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
The musical theatre program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Musical Theater rankings. We derive our Best Overall Musical Theater School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Musical Theater Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the musical theatre degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Every student who is interested in musical theater has to check out University of Southern California. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.More information about a degree in musical theater from University of Southern California
Any student pursuing a degree in musical theater has to take a look at Emerson College. Located in the city of Boston, Emerson is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #127 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Emerson is a great college overall.
There were roughly 13 musical theater students who graduated with this degree at Emerson in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in musical theater from Emerson CollegeEarn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
More information about a degree in MBA in Music Business from Southern New Hampshire University
American Musical and Dramatic Academy is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in musical theater. American Musical and Dramatic Academy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.More information about a degree in musical theater from American Musical and Dramatic Academy
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a wonderful decision for students interested in a degree in musical theater. U-M is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were about 22 musical theater students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in musical theater from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Iowa is a very large public university located in the small city of Iowa City. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.
There were approximately 2 musical theater students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in musical theater from University of Iowa
Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population. This college ranks 9th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 33 musical theater students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in musical theater from Columbia College Chicago
Purchase College is a small public college located in the suburb of Purchase. This college ranks 53rd out of 136 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were approximately 18 musical theater students who graduated with this degree at Purchase College in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in musical theater from Purchase College
Syracuse is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Syracuse. A Best Colleges rank of #62 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Syracuse is a great university overall.
There were about 19 musical theater students who graduated with this degree at Syracuse in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in musical theater from Syracuse University
Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #97 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Temple is a great university overall.
There were roughly 17 musical theater students who graduated with this degree at Temple in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in musical theater from Temple University
Ithaca is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small suburb of Ithaca. This college ranks 23rd out of 136 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were about 14 musical theater students who graduated with this degree at Ithaca in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in musical theater from Ithaca 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 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were about 32 musical theater students who graduated with this degree at MMC in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in musical theater from Marymount Manhattan College
Located in the medium-sized suburb of Elon, Elon is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 5th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were about 22 musical theater students who graduated with this degree at Elon in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in musical theater from Elon UniversityThese are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Musical Theater Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | University of California - Irvine | Irvine, CA |
| 14 | The New School | New York, NY |
| 15 | Kent State University at Kent | Kent, OH |
| 16 | Indiana University - Bloomington | Bloomington, IN |
| 17 | Texas State University | San Marcos, TX |
| 18 | The University of the Arts | Philadelphia, PA |
| 19 | University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ |
| 20 | Texas Christian University | Fort Worth, TX |
View the Best Musical Theater Schools for a specific region near you.
One of 11 majors within the Drama & Theater Arts area of study, Musical Theater has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Theater Arts | 11,323 |
| Acting | 1,686 |
| Theater Design & Technology | 1,072 |
| Playwriting & Screenwriting | 814 |
| Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft | 478 |
| Directing & Theatrical Production | 232 |
| Theatre and Dance | 96 |
| Theatre Literature, History & Criticism | 54 |
| Costume Design | 47 |
| Comedy Writing and Performance | 41 |
More about our data sources and methodologies.
.jpg){kind=link}