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2025 Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

54 Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region
2,902 Bachelor's Degrees
$19,702 Avg Early-Career Salary
a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #38 out of 363 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 54 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of drama & theater arts. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,902 bachelor'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 Bachelor's Degree

Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region 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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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 Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

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 bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Theater Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The theater school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Drama & Theater Arts in the Middle Atlantic Region

The following list ranks 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.

10 Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Theater

1
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
421 Annual Graduates
$20,916 Median Starting Salary
$114,528 Median Student Debt

New York University is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the city of New York, NYU 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 $20,916.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from New York University

2

It is hard to beat Carnegie Mellon University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the drama & theater arts degree program at Carnegie Mellon University make $13,265 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Carnegie Mellon University

3
225 Annual Graduates
$17,410 Median Starting Salary
$123,774 Median Student Debt

American Musical and Dramatic Academy is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. 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 bachelor's from the theater program state that they receive average early career earnings of $17,410.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from American Musical and Dramatic Academy

4
Purchase College crest
Purchase College
Purchase, NY
139 Annual Graduates
$18,090 Median Starting Salary
$42,595 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat Purchase College if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Purchase College is a small public college located in the suburb of Purchase.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program report average early career wages of $18,090.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Purchase College

5
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
61 Annual Graduates
$20,988 Median Starting Salary
$102,596 Median Student Debt

Syracuse is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Syracuse.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program report average early career income of $20,988.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Syracuse University

6
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
70 Annual Graduates
$19,269 Median Starting Salary
$55,749 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the theater program make an average of $19,269 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Temple University

7
Ithaca crest
Ithaca College
Ithaca, NY

Ithaca is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small suburb of Ithaca.

Soon after graduating, theater bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $18,243 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Ithaca College

8
125 Annual Graduates
$19,562 Median Starting Salary
$81,964 Median Student Debt

MMC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of New York.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the theater program earn an average of $19,562 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Marymount Manhattan College

9
New School University crest
The New School
New York, NY
70 Annual Graduates
$17,113 Median Starting Salary
$107,541 Median Student Debt

New School University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

Soon after graduation, theater bachelor's recipients generally earn around $17,113 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from The New School

10
UArts crest
The University of the Arts
Philadelphia, PA
60 Annual Graduates
$12,085 Median Starting Salary
$67,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UArts is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program report average early career wages of $12,085.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from The University of the Arts

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Drama & Theater Arts students in the Middle Atlantic Region that almost earned our Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region award.

Rank College Location
11 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
12 Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA
13 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
14 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
15 American University Washington, DC
16 Point Park University Pittsburgh, PA
17 Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
18 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA

Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best drama & theater arts colleges for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New York 275 1,927
Pennsylvania 274 615
Maryland 207 167
New Jersey 193 188
District of Columbia 126 44

View All Rankings >

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

Theater Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Theater Arts 1,772
Musical Theater 462
Acting 329
Theater Design & Technology 130
Playwriting & Screenwriting 118
Directing & Theatrical Production 67
Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft 20
Theatre Literature, History & Criticism 3
Theatre and Dance 1

Related Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 4,200
Fine & Studio Arts 3,951
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 2,571
Music 2,500
Dance 779
Arts & Media Management 674
General Visual & Performing Arts 481
Other Visual Art 212
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 7

Notes and References

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