Free tool · federal data
What does this major pay at different colleges?
Pick a major, a degree level and a state. You get what graduates of each college's program earned four years after graduating and what they borrowed in federal loans, from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, with the national median for the same program as the yardstick.
Side by side
Is it worth it? The federal figures, side by side
Federal data cannot decide that for you, but it puts what graduates earned beside what they borrowed. Programs appear in the order you added them, with no ranking.
| Measure | Northwestern UniversityTheater Arts, bachelor's · ILRemove |
|---|---|
| Median earnings, 4 years after graduating | $49,316 (61 graduates) |
| Federal debt borrowed at this college (median) | $17,000 |
| Monthly payment, 10-year plan | $180 |
| Payment as a share of median monthly earningsbefore tax | roughly 4% |
| National median, same program and degree | $39,775 |
| Typical program nearbythe state, or its Census division when the state has fewer than 3 programs | $39,986 (Illinois, 9 programs) |
| Total federal debt counting every college attendeda second federal measure; it includes loans from colleges attended before this one | $17,000 |
Earnings: College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, for graduates who received federal aid, worked and were not enrolled. Debt: graduates of 2018-19 and 2019-20. The monthly payment is a standard 10-year plan on the median debt borrowed at that college. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education.College cost is not shown here; each college's profile has its net price.
Your results
Theater Arts, bachelor's programs nationwide
Nationally, bachelor's graduates in Theater Arts earn a median $39,775 four years after graduating. Among 121 programs with federal earnings data, University of Cincinnati-Main Campus (OH) graduates had the highest median, $54,000 (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).
- Programs with data
- 121
- Highest median
- $54,000
- National median
- $39,775
| College | State | Median earnings, 4 yrs after | vs national median | Debt borrowed at this college (median) | Add to the side-by-side comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Cincinnati-Main CampusFigure covers 3 campuses | OH | $54,000 | +36% | $25,706 | Compare |
| Chapman University | CA | $51,611 | +30% | $22,500 | Compare |
| Western Connecticut State University | CT | $50,955 | +28% | $25,000 | Compare |
| University of Utah | UT | $49,802 | +25% | $19,566 | Compare |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | $49,323 | +24% | $20,500 | Compare |
| Northwestern University | IL | $49,316 | +24% | $17,000 | In comparison |
| Loyola Marymount University | CA | $49,135 | +24% | $20,000 | Compare |
| The University of Texas at Austin | TX | $48,781 | +23% | $25,711 | Compare |
| University of North Carolina School of the Arts | NC | $48,664 | +22% | $23,500 | Compare |
| Texas State University | TX | $48,502 | +22% | $19,500 | Compare |
| University of Oklahoma-Norman CampusFigure covers 2 campuses | OK | $47,587 | +20% | $20,044 | Compare |
| Ithaca College | NY | $46,563 | +17% | $26,000 | Compare |
| University of Northern Colorado | CO | $46,089 | +16% | $24,000 | Compare |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | MI | $45,888 | +15% | $20,379 | Compare |
| University of South Florida | FL | $45,671 | +15% | $22,342 | Compare |
| George Mason University | VA | $45,656 | +15% | $27,000 | Compare |
| James Madison University | VA | $45,225 | +14% | $19,000 | Compare |
| Appalachian State University | NC | $44,986 | +13% | $23,750 | Compare |
| Full Sail University | FL | $44,878 | +13% | $20,500 | Compare |
| San Francisco State University | CA | $44,848 | +13% | $17,940 | Compare |
| University of Nebraska-LincolnFigure covers 2 campuses | NE | $44,825 | +13% | $22,500 | Compare |
| Emerson College | MA | $44,760 | +13% | $25,000 | Compare |
| Western Michigan University | MI | $44,694 | +12% | $26,731 | Compare |
| University of Arizona | AZ | $44,471 | +12% | $23,665 | Compare |
| Hofstra University | NY | $44,388 | +12% | $26,000 | Compare |
The 25 highest of 121 programs. Ordered by median earnings four years after graduating: one federal measure, not a ranking of program quality.
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Same major, other degree levels: Associate's · Undergraduate certificate · Master's
What these numbers are
Earnings: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars. Only programs with at least 30 graduates in the earnings cohort are listed, and a multi-state system whose figure pools campuses in several states is left out of state lists. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education. Federal program group: Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. Earnings reflect who enrolls and where graduates work as well as the program itself.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field-of-study data, 10 June 2026. Download every program (CSV).