Ramapo College of New Jersey Theatre (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
- Public college
- Mahwah, NJ
- About 4 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Ramapo College of New Jersey theatre graduates earn less than graduates of most theatre programs nationally, $15,372 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,620 in federal loans, less than at 79% of theatre programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the New Jersey median of $17,570.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New Jersey and national columns are the medians across all theatre bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Ramapo College of New Jersey graduates earn more than the national figure and about $2,725 more than the New Jersey median.
Debt and first-year pay at every New Jersey theatre program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New Jersey medians.
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 150% between the first and fifth year.
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 $219 a month, or 17.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
92% of graduates (24 of 26) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating. Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $15,372 salary here buys what about $13,656 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
$119,840Median pay in New Jersey. 2,970 people work in this job in New Jersey. 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.
Writers and Authors
$81,590Median pay in New Jersey. 1,180 people work in this job in New Jersey. 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.
About Ramapo College of New Jersey
Theatre ranks 19th of 19 bachelor's programs at Ramapo College of New Jersey by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($95,153), Computer and Information Science ($69,363), and Accounting ($66,615).
Other theatre bachelor's programs near Mahwah
Common questions
The median graduate earns $15,372 one year after graduating and $38,493 five years after. The median across theatre bachelor's programs in New Jersey is $17,570.
The median federal loan balance is $20,620, which ranks the lowest of 6 theatre bachelor's programs in New Jersey. That works out to about $219 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 134% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 115%. Compare the cost with other New Jersey programs before deciding.
Most do. 92% (24 of 26) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating.
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 New Jersey 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