Best Colleges for Drama & Theatre Arts
50 Drama & Theatre Arts programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.
For Drama & Theatre Arts, University of Notre Dame (Indiana) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $64,880. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.
| # | School | Credential | Median earnings | Median debt | Completers | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN | Bachelor's Degree | $64,880 | $19,000 | 68 | 94.7 |
| 2 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $55,555 | $15,012 | 28 | 91.4 |
| 3 | University of California-Davis Davis, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $56,823 | $13,000 | 21 | 91.2 |
| 4 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL | Bachelor's Degree | $49,316 | $17,000 | 90 | 88.5 |
| 5 | CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY | Master's Degree | $77,516 | — | 26 | 86.3 |
| 6 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $49,135 | $20,000 | 134 | 85.5 |
| 7 | Texas State University San Marcos, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $48,502 | $19,500 | 149 | 85.3 |
| 8 | University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT | Bachelor's Degree | $49,802 | $19,566 | 38 | 85.2 |
| 9 | Chapman University Orange, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $51,611 | $22,500 | 94 | 84.2 |
| 10 | University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA | Master's Degree | $59,013 | — | 21 | 83.6 |
| 11 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | Bachelor's Degree | $49,323 | $20,500 | 37 | 83.5 |
| 12 | Texas A & M University-Commerce Commerce, TX | Master's Degree | $62,924 | — | 17 | 83.1 |
| 13 | Southern Utah University Cedar City, UT | Bachelor's Degree | $48,419 | $19,000 | 31 | 82.9 |
| 14 | California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $47,676 | $16,396 | 27 | 82.8 |
| 15 | California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA | Master's Degree | $61,569 | — | 16 | 82.4 |
| 16 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA | Master's Degree | $67,588 | — | 12 | 82.2 |
| 17 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH | Bachelor's Degree | $54,000 | $25,706 | 62 | 81.9 |
| 18 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK | Bachelor's Degree | $47,587 | $20,044 | 48 | 81.4 |
| 19 | West Texas A & M University Canyon, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $47,175 | $19,250 | 28 | 80.9 |
| 20 | Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $55,622 | — | 17 | 80.7 |
| 21 | University of North Carolina School of the Arts Winston Salem, NC | Bachelor's Degree | $48,664 | $23,500 | 86 | 80.4 |
| 22 | Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH | Master's Degree | $53,128 | — | 22 | 80.4 |
| 23 | University of North Carolina School of the Arts Winston Salem, NC | Master's Degree | $56,064 | — | 15 | 80.1 |
| 24 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA | Bachelor's Degree | $45,225 | $19,000 | 63 | 80.1 |
| 25 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | Master's Degree | $52,436 | — | 23 | 79.9 |
| 26 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI | Bachelor's Degree | $45,888 | $20,379 | 61 | 79.9 |
| 27 | Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA | Master's Degree | $61,519 | — | 7 | 79.9 |
| 28 | Pepperdine University Malibu, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $50,594 | $19,500 | 7 | 79.5 |
| 29 | Western Connecticut State University Danbury, CT | Bachelor's Degree | $50,955 | $25,000 | 46 | 79.4 |
| 30 | Brandeis University Waltham, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $58,676 | — | 6 | 79 |
| 31 | Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH | Bachelor's Degree | $54,215 | — | 14 | 79 |
| 32 | Drake University Des Moines, IA | Bachelor's Degree | $54,950 | — | 11 | 78.6 |
| 33 | The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL | Master's Degree | $57,026 | — | 7 | 78.5 |
| 34 | University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO | Master's Degree | $54,468 | — | 11 | 78.5 |
| 35 | University of Idaho Moscow, ID | Master's Degree | $70,605 | $41,000 | 33 | 78.4 |
| 36 | North Central College Naperville, IL | Bachelor's Degree | $46,605 | $19,500 | 23 | 78.4 |
| 37 | University of Central Florida Orlando, FL | Master's Degree | $53,911 | — | 12 | 78.2 |
| 38 | New York University New York, NY | Master's Degree | $58,054 | $97,383 | 126 | 78.1 |
| 39 | Binghamton University Vestal, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $47,945 | $19,500 | 15 | 77.7 |
| 40 | Regent University Virginia Beach, VA | Master's Degree | $58,972 | $52,693 | 41 | 77.4 |
| 41 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $44,848 | $17,940 | 30 | 77.2 |
| 42 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA | Bachelor's Degree | $51,775 | — | 16 | 77.1 |
| 43 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $48,781 | $25,711 | 72 | 76.9 |
| 44 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY | Master's Degree | $57,723 | $131,963 | 68 | 76.6 |
| 45 | Rhode Island College Providence, RI | Bachelor's Degree | $50,335 | $24,034 | 18 | 76.6 |
| 46 | University of Missouri-Kansas City Kansas City, MO | Master's Degree | $49,306 | — | 21 | 76.4 |
| 47 | University of Houston Houston, TX | Master's Degree | $62,281 | $27,581 | 22 | 76.4 |
| 48 | Full Sail University Winter Park, FL | Bachelor's Degree | $44,878 | $20,500 | 51 | 76.3 |
| 49 | University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV | Master's Degree | $53,150 | — | 6 | 76.2 |
| 50 | California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $43,240 | $15,201 | 53 | 76.1 |
How we ranked this
Programs are scored 0–100 within the Drama & Theatre Arts field (CIP 50.05) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Drama & Theatre Arts programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.
Frequently asked questions
Which college has the best Drama & Theatre Arts program?+
By our outcome score, University of Notre Dame (Indiana) ranks #1 for Drama & Theatre Arts, with median graduate earnings of $64,880.
How are these Drama & Theatre Arts programs ranked?+
Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.
Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+
The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.
Can I filter Drama & Theatre Arts programs by state or degree level?+
Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.