How much debt do BYU theatre graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $22,904, which ranks 5th lowest of 5 theatre bachelor's programs in Utah. That works out to about $243 a month over 10 years.

Is a theatre degree from BYU worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 109% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 115%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Utah programs report higher pay.

Do BYU theatre graduates stay in Utah?

Most do. 65% (24 of 37) were working in Utah one year after graduating.

BYU Theatre (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Private nonprofit university
Provo, UT
About 35 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

BYU theatre graduates earn about what theatre graduates earn nationally, $21,047 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $22,904 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several Utah programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$21,04753rd percentile of 257 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$37,75479% more than year one

Median federal debt$22,9045th lowest of 5 Utah programs

Debt-to-earnings109%Utah median 71%, national 115%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Utah and national columns are the medians across all theatre bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	BYU	Utah	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$21,047	$23,341	$20,815
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$37,754	$39,901	$34,512
Median federal debt at graduation	$22,904	$19,284	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	109%	71%	115%
Programs compared		5	257

Five years out, BYU graduates earn more than the national figure but about $2,147 less than the Utah median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Utah theatre program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Utah medians.

BYUOther Utah programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 79% between the first and fifth year.

BYU grads, year 1$21,047

BYU grads, year 5$37,754

All Utah theatre grads, year 5$39,901

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $243 a month, or 13.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

65% of graduates (24 of 37) were working in Utah one year after graduating. Prices in the Provo area are about 2% below the national average, so a $21,047 salary here buys what about $21,426 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to theatre, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Producers and Directors

$76,350

Median pay in Utah. 1,670 people work in this job in Utah. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $36,500Top 10%: $168,140

Writers and Authors

$64,530

Median pay in Utah. 410 people work in this job in Utah. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $36,260Top 10%: $101,460

About BYU

Tuition and fees	$6,688 / year
Average net price after aid	$15,564 / year
Admission rate	68%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	81%
Undergraduate students	32,952

Theatre ranks 64th of 64 bachelor's programs at BYU by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($90,625), Computer Engineering ($88,785), and Finance ($83,876).

Other theatre bachelor's programs near Provo

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
BYUProvo, UT · private nonprofit		$21,047	$22,904
Utah Valley UniversityOrem, UT · public	4 mi	$23,896	$16,510
University of UtahSalt Lake City, UT · public	37 mi	$20,701	$20,316

Common questions

The median graduate earns $21,047 one year after graduating and $37,754 five years after. The median across theatre bachelor's programs in Utah is $23,341.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Utah comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the theatre program.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Theatre bachelor's programs in Utah, ranked5 programs by pay and debt Theatre bachelor's programs in the US, ranked257 programs by pay and debt All BYU programs, ranked64 programs by pay and debt