Majors

Best Colleges for Dance, by Earnings

235 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Dance, about 2,490 degrees a year. Across the 56 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $40,845 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	University of Iowa	IA	$60,188	15	83.6%
2	Stephen F Austin State University	TX	$57,593	8	94%
3	Muhlenberg College	PA	$56,503	27	72%
4	University of South Carolina	SC	$55,274	15	60.2%
5	Texas Woman's University	TX	$53,072	16	96.1%
6	Texas State University	TX	$53,057	36	89.3%
7	The University of Alabama	AL	$51,744	29	76.6%
8	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$51,736	24	58.1%
9	Chapman University	CA	$50,612	33	65.4%
10	University of North Texas	TX	$49,063	9	72.2%
11	Sam Houston State University	TX	$48,568	27	90.3%
12	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	$48,518	20	79.6%
13	Hofstra University	NY	$48,086	11	68.1%
14	University of Minnesota	MN	$48,069	6	79.8%
15	Fordham University	NY	$47,036	29	59.3%
16	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$46,387	37	46.3%
17	University of California-Riverside	CA	$45,804	10	76.4%
18	Western Michigan University	MI	$45,108	16	84.6%
19	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	NC	$45,084	23	88.5%
20	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	$44,858	19	33%
21	San Francisco State University	CA	$44,627	9	96.4%
22	Arizona State University	AZ	$43,987	16	89.9%
23	East Carolina University	NC	$42,785	14	89.2%
24	University of Florida	FL	$42,624	35	24.2%
25	Columbia College Chicago	IL	$41,842	15	89.5%
26	Anderson University	IN	$41,772	4	79.3%
27	Mercyhurst University	PA	$41,049	12	81%
28	Florida State University	FL	$40,892	18	24.2%
29	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania	PA	$40,797	14	71.5%
30	SUNY Brockport	NY	$40,516	9	70.7%
31	University of California-Irvine	CA	$40,466	37	28.6%
32	Pace University	NY	$39,716	20	75.9%
33	University at Buffalo	NY	$39,576	19	74.2%
34	Montclair State University	NJ	$39,064	33	87.9%
35	New York University	NY	$38,571	41	7.7%
36	Marymount Manhattan College	NY	$38,227	38	82.6%
37	Minnesota State University-Mankato	MN	$37,959	5	88.4%
38	Point Park University	PA	$37,205	71	96.9%
39	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$36,925	16	96.2%
40	George Mason University	VA	$36,901	15	87.5%
41	Dean College	MA	$36,644	34	73.7%
42	Temple University	PA	$36,524	17	80.4%
43	DeSales University	PA	$36,515	13	77.1%
44	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$36,277	24	9%
45	Berklee College of Music	MA	$35,702	36	43.5%
46	Loyola Marymount University	CA	$35,288	11	45.1%
47	Ball State University	IN	$34,518	14	85.5%
48	Oklahoma City University	OK	$34,105	27	77%
49	University of Arizona	AZ	$34,010	33	86.1%
50	University of South Florida	FL	$33,269	20	43.2%
51	University of North Carolina School of the Arts	NC	$32,463	34	30%
52	Belhaven University	MS	$32,324	13	49.8%
53	SUNY at Purchase College	NY	$30,406	41	74.1%
54	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	WI	$29,695	9	90.7%
55	University of Missouri-Kansas City	MO	$28,834	8	72.2%
56	CUNY Lehman College	NY	$23,522	14	56.6%

179 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Dance graduates?

University of Iowa ($60,188), Stephen F Austin State University ($57,593), Muhlenberg College ($56,503), University of South Carolina ($55,274), Texas Woman's University ($53,072) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Dance majors make?

The median across 56 colleges is $40,845 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $23,522 to $60,188.

Which colleges have the biggest Dance programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Point Park University (71), University of Utah (42), New York University (41), SUNY at Purchase College (41), Marymount Manhattan College (38).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Dance". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.