College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2025 Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the New England Region

19 Colleges in the New England Region
1,025 Theater Degrees Awarded
$22,179 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in drama & theater arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #59 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 19 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the New England Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,025 degrees in drama & theater arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Drama & Theater Arts School

Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the New England Region Your choice of drama & theater arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for drama & theater arts schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Drama & Theater Arts Rankings by Degree Level

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

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 Schools in the New England Region. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

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.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Drama & Theater Arts in the New England Region

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the theater degree levels they offer.

10 Top New England Region Schools in Theater

1
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Theater Degrees Awarded
$21,508 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat Boston University if you want to pursue a degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Boston U is a great university overall.

There were approximately 76 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, theater degree recipients typically make about $21,508 at the beginning of their careers.

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

2
Emerson crest
Emerson College
Boston, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
146 Theater Degrees Awarded
2.1% Growth in Graduates

Emerson College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in drama & theater arts. Emerson is a medium-sized private not-for-profit college located in the large city of Boston. A Best Colleges rank of #127 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Emerson is a great college overall.

There were approximately 146 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Emerson in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the theater program state that they receive average early career wages of $19,560.

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

3
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In RI
12.0% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat Brown University if you want to pursue a degree in drama & theater arts. Brown is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Providence. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.

There were roughly 25 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent data year.

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

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In MA

Every student pursuing a degree in drama & theater arts has to look into Northeastern University. Located in the large city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #33 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northeastern is a great university overall.

There were roughly 16 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Northeastern in the most recent year we have data available.

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

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
33 Theater Degrees Awarded
$18,002 Median Starting Salary

UCONN is a fairly large public university located in the fringe town of Storrs. A Best Colleges rank of #57 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCONN is a great university overall.

There were approximately 33 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UCONN in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the theater program earn about $18,002 in the first couple years of working.

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

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In MA
11.5% Growth in Graduates

UMass Amherst is a very large public university located in the small city of Amherst. A Best Colleges rank of #60 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UMass Amherst is a great university overall.

There were roughly 26 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UMass Amherst in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from University of Massachusetts Amherst

7
Bennington crest
Bennington College
Bennington, VT
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$16,579 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Bennington, Bennington is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #361 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Bennington is a great college overall.

There were about 23 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Bennington in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the theater program make about $16,579 in their early career salary.

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

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MA
75 Theater Degrees Awarded

Berklee College of Music is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the city of Boston.

There were approximately 75 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Berklee College of Music in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Berklee College of Music

9
Mt. Holyoke crest
Mount Holyoke College
South Hadley, MA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
19th Most Popular In MA
30.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of South Hadley, Mt. Holyoke is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 36th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were about 10 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Mt. Holyoke in the most recent year we have data available.

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

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$24,830 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Durham, UNH is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #151 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNH is a great university overall.

There were about 18 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UNH in the most recent data year. Drama & Theater Arts degree recipients from University of New Hampshire - Main Campus get an earnings boost of approximately $2,651 over the average income of drama & theater arts graduates.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from University of New Hampshire - Main Campus

Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best drama & theater arts colleges for a specific state in the New England Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Massachusetts 301 569
Connecticut 241 182
New Hampshire 210 49
Maine 202 36
Rhode Island 200 82
Vermont 194 52

View All Rankings >

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Drama & Theater Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Theater Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Theater Arts 612
Acting 122
Theater Design & Technology 94
Musical Theater 94
Directing & Theatrical Production 39
Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft 27
Playwriting & Screenwriting 23
Theatre Literature, History & Criticism 8
Theatre and Dance 4
Costume Design 2

View All Theater Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music 2,243
Fine & Studio Arts 2,098
Design & Applied Arts 2,097
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,444
Arts & Media Management 408
General Visual & Performing Arts 352
Dance 142
Other Visual Art 69
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 9
Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art 4

View All Theater Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options