Rowan University Theatre (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
- Public university
- Glassboro, NJ
- About 29 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Rowan University theatre graduates earn about what theatre graduates earn nationally, $18,558 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. One other New Jersey program reports higher pay.
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, Rowan University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $12,940 less 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 23% 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 $265 a month, or 17.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
77% of graduates (24 of 31) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating. Prices in the Philadelphia area are about 3% above the national average, so a $18,558 salary here buys what about $18,096 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 Rowan University
Theatre ranks 42nd of 42 bachelor's programs at Rowan University by first-year earnings. The top three are Construction Finishing and Inspection ($85,630), Nursing ($84,859), and Electrical Engineering ($79,612).
Other theatre bachelor's programs near Glassboro
Common questions
The median graduate earns $18,558 one year after graduating and $22,828 five years after. The median across theatre bachelor's programs in New Jersey is $17,570.
The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 3rd lowest of 6 theatre bachelor's programs in New Jersey. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 135% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 115%. Compare the cost with other New Jersey programs before deciding.
Most do. 77% (24 of 31) 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