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2025 Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Pennsylvania

12 Colleges in Pennsylvania
742 Theater Degrees Awarded
$22,179 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in drama & theater arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #59 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 12 schools in Pennsylvania to determine which ones were the best for drama & theater arts students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 742 degrees in drama & theater arts to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Drama & Theater Arts School

Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Pennsylvania The theater program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Drama & Theater Arts rankings. We derive our Best Overall Drama & Theater Arts 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.

Pick Your Drama & Theater Arts Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Theater
Bachelor's Degrees in Theater
Master's Degrees in Theater
Doctor's Degrees in Theater

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Pennsylvania list, to help you choose the best school for you. 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 Drama & Theater Arts in Pennsylvania

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

10 Top Pennsylvania Schools in Theater

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
72 Theater Degrees Awarded
$32,967 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in drama & theater arts has to check out Carnegie Mellon University. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.

There were roughly 72 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent data year. Drama & Theater Arts degree recipients from Carnegie Mellon University earn a boost of around $10,788 above the typical earnings of drama & theater arts majors.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Carnegie Mellon University

2
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
81 Theater Degrees Awarded
$19,269 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in drama & theater arts needs to check out Temple University. Located in the 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 81 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Temple in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, theater degree recipients typically make around $19,269 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Temple University

3
UArts crest
The University of the Arts
Philadelphia, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
90 Theater Degrees Awarded
10.0% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in drama & theater arts needs to take a look at The University of the Arts. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UArts is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

There were about 90 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UArts in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the theater program earn about $12,085 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from The University of the Arts

4
Muhlenberg crest
Muhlenberg College
Allentown, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
72 Theater Degrees Awarded
1.4% Growth in Graduates

Muhlenberg College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in drama & theater arts. Muhlenberg is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Allentown. A Best Colleges rank of #331 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Muhlenberg is a great college overall.

There were roughly 72 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Muhlenberg in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, theater degree recipients typically earn an average of $17,150 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Muhlenberg College

5
Point Park crest
Point Park University
Pittsburgh, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
94 Theater Degrees Awarded
29.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Point Park is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 65th out of 103 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were about 94 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Point Park in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the theater program state that they receive average early career earnings of $23,147.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Point Park University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In PA
11.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Pitt is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #85 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Pitt is a great university overall.

There were approximately 17 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Pitt in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

7
Seton Hill crest
Seton Hill University
Greensburg, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
17th Most Popular In PA

Seton Hill is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Greensburg. This university ranks 87th out of 103 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were roughly 10 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Seton Hill in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Seton Hill University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$33,169 Median Starting Salary

SRU is a moderately-sized public university located in the distant town of Slippery Rock. This university ranks 37th out of 103 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were about 3 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at SRU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the drama & theater arts degree program at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania make $10,990 above the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

9
Arcadia crest
Arcadia University
Glenside, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
31st Most Popular In PA
57.1% Growth in Graduates

Arcadia is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Glenside. A Best Colleges rank of #502 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Arcadia is a great university overall.

There were roughly 14 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Arcadia in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Arcadia University

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In PA

Located in the suburb of Millersville, Millersville is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 53rd out of 103 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were roughly 7 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Millersville in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Millersville University of Pennsylvania

Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New York 333 2,536
Maryland 279 179
New Jersey 273 210
District of Columbia 188 67

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 420
Acting 121
Musical Theater 76
Theater Design & Technology 38
Directing & Theatrical Production 38
Playwriting & Screenwriting 31
Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft 17
Costume Design 1

View All Theater Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 1,171
Fine & Studio Arts 1,141
Music 967
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 590
Dance 272
Arts & Media Management 241
General Visual & Performing Arts 183
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 8
Other Visual Art 1

View All Theater Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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