Best Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft Degrees in the US by ROI

Top colleges ranked by estimated 20-year net return on investment across all active states. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Programs Analyzed

241

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

-$432,740

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$35,923

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	Sonoma State University Grad rate: 60.1%	CA	-$92,091	$43,766	$24,739	$21,078	Full ROI →
2	University of Wisconsin-Madison Grad rate: 89.3%	WI	-$125,260	$41,291	$27,770	N/A	Full ROI →
3	Stony Brook University Grad rate: 77.8%	NY	-$126,676	$41,501	$29,174	N/A	Full ROI →
4	CUNY Queens College Grad rate: 58.4%	NY	-$152,832	$37,087	$13,643	N/A	Full ROI →
5	West Texas A & M University Grad rate: 46.1%	TX	-$156,994	$40,334	$23,383	$22,328	Full ROI →
6	St Olaf College Grad rate: 84.2%	MN	-$165,750	$48,970	$69,200	$21,000	Full ROI →
7	University of Wisconsin-River Falls Grad rate: 60.0%	WI	-$186,424	$36,594	$19,576	N/A	Full ROI →
8	University of Notre Dame Grad rate: 96.6%	IN	-$191,694	$49,740	$80,211	$19,000	Full ROI →
9	University of North Carolina School of the Arts Grad rate: 80.6%	NC	-$208,591	$38,341	$25,553	$24,592	Full ROI →
10	CUNY Hunter College Grad rate: 58.7%	NY	-$233,120	$33,006	$13,310	N/A	Full ROI →
11	Metropolitan State University Grad rate: 35.5%	MN	-$241,248	$35,149	$26,057	N/A	Full ROI →
12	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Grad rate: 71.8%	OH	-$241,905	$37,415	$28,783	$25,980	Full ROI →
13	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Grad rate: 45.6%	CO	-$247,881	$36,136	$23,369	$27,500	Full ROI →
14	University of Michigan-Flint Grad rate: 45.5%	MI	-$253,536	$33,989	$23,329	N/A	Full ROI →
15	George Mason University Grad rate: 69.9%	VA	-$256,278	$36,403	$26,972	$27,000	Full ROI →
16	Middle Tennessee State University Grad rate: 54.3%	TN	-$263,786	$34,644	$22,754	$19,000	Full ROI →
17	SUNY at Purchase College Grad rate: 64.2%	NY	-$266,044	$36,161	$28,541	$26,000	Full ROI →
18	Florida International University Grad rate: 71.3%	FL	-$267,449	$33,920	$20,556	$17,500	Full ROI →
19	CUNY New York City College of Technology Grad rate: 20.4%	NY	-$267,856	$31,693	$13,404	$6,000	Full ROI →
20	University of Iowa Grad rate: 73.4%	IA	-$269,071	$35,720	$26,883	$26,622	Full ROI →
21	Sam Houston State University Grad rate: 55.6%	TX	-$270,365	$34,887	$24,517	$22,250	Full ROI →
22	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Grad rate: 48.7%	NV	-$273,296	$33,550	$19,440	$19,657	Full ROI →
23	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Grad rate: 65.4%	NE	-$275,031	$34,886	$25,341	$23,250	Full ROI →
24	Towson University Grad rate: 68.7%	MD	-$286,549	$34,178	$26,621	$17,500	Full ROI →
25	Truman State University Grad rate: 69.7%	MO	-$287,120	$32,328	$23,420	N/A	Full ROI →
26	Ohio State University-Lima Campus Grad rate: 19.6%	OH	-$287,523	$33,009	$18,404	$25,250	Full ROI →
27	University of Southern Indiana Grad rate: 51.5%	IN	-$290,680	$33,029	$20,749	$20,937	Full ROI →
28	Texas Tech University Grad rate: 67.1%	TX	-$291,143	$34,726	$27,472	$26,500	Full ROI →
29	Ramapo College of New Jersey Grad rate: 70.7%	NJ	-$298,921	$34,481	$30,176	$20,620	Full ROI →
30	University of Oregon Grad rate: 72.5%	OR	-$302,544	$33,400	$32,636	N/A	Full ROI →
31	University of Kansas Grad rate: 68.0%	KS	-$305,740	$31,756	$25,215	N/A	Full ROI →
32	Kent State University at Trumbull Grad rate: 19.3%	OH	-$305,876	$31,693	$16,159	$26,000	Full ROI →
33	Alabama State University Grad rate: 28.8%	AL	-$308,442	$33,076	$22,028	$31,000	Full ROI →
34	Florida State University Grad rate: 83.9%	FL	-$308,942	$32,707	$23,683	$21,000	Full ROI →
35	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Grad rate: 86.3%	VA	-$309,119	$34,615	$32,040	$24,637	Full ROI →
36	Stephen F Austin State University Grad rate: 52.4%	TX	-$313,824	$32,910	$24,231	$26,000	Full ROI →
37	Western Carolina University Grad rate: 59.8%	NC	-$314,548	$31,839	$19,057	$26,000	Full ROI →
38	Metropolitan State University of Denver Grad rate: 29.5%	CO	-$316,219	$32,663	$22,825	$28,281	Full ROI →
39	Otterbein University Grad rate: 69.3%	OH	-$317,669	$37,500	$47,865	$26,822	Full ROI →
40	Georgia College & State University Grad rate: 62.0%	GA	-$318,004	$31,656	$27,781	N/A	Full ROI →
41	Utah Valley University Grad rate: 40.0%	UT	-$320,696	$30,114	$15,172	$16,510	Full ROI →
42	University of Florida Grad rate: 90.7%	FL	-$321,477	$31,292	$21,719	$15,142	Full ROI →
43	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Grad rate: 49.6%	WI	-$326,486	$31,933	$22,174	$27,000	Full ROI →
44	Colorado Mesa University Grad rate: 40.3%	CO	-$327,572	$30,198	$22,883	N/A	Full ROI →
45	SUNY College at Potsdam Grad rate: 48.9%	NY	-$328,036	$32,265	$24,489	$26,208	Full ROI →
46	Michigan State University Grad rate: 81.9%	MI	-$328,349	$33,190	$30,528	$22,250	Full ROI →
47	California State University-Fullerton Grad rate: 69.3%	CA	-$329,653	$30,052	$16,767	$17,500	Full ROI →
48	Ohio State University-Main Campus Grad rate: 87.9%	OH	-$331,187	$33,009	$29,320	$25,250	Full ROI →
49	University of South Dakota Grad rate: 59.4%	SD	-$331,896	$30,114	$23,544	N/A	Full ROI →
50	Northern Illinois University Grad rate: 51.3%	IL	-$334,606	$32,535	$27,214	$27,000	Full ROI →

How ROI is calculated

20-Year Net ROI = Gross Earnings (salary × 20) − Total Degree Cost − Debt Payoff (×1.35) − Baseline Opportunity Cost ($42,000 × 20). Data from the U.S. College Scorecard.

Find Best Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft Degrees by State

Browse Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft programs ranked by 20-year ROI in every state that offers this degree.