UNC Chapel Hill Theatre (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
- Public university
- Chapel Hill, NC
- About 23 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UNC Chapel Hill theatre graduates earn more than graduates of most theatre programs nationally, $26,457 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $15,613 in federal loans, less than at 94% of theatre programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying theatre degrees in North Carolina.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The North Carolina and national columns are the medians across all theatre bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina theatre program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the North Carolina medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $6,500 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $166 a month, or 7.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
66% of graduates (29 of 44) were working in North Carolina one year after graduating. Prices in the Durham area are about 2% below the national average, so a $26,457 salary here buys what about $27,115 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
$63,700Median pay in North Carolina. 3,500 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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
$63,660Median pay in North Carolina. 1,810 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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 UNC Chapel Hill
Theatre ranks 35th of 40 bachelor's programs at UNC Chapel Hill by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($90,293), Business Administration ($85,618), and Information Science ($75,834).
Other theatre bachelor's programs near Chapel Hill
Common questions
The median graduate earns $26,457 one year after graduating. The median across theatre bachelor's programs in North Carolina is $21,113.
The median federal loan balance is $15,613, which ranks the lowest of 9 theatre bachelor's programs in North Carolina. That works out to about $166 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 59% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 115%.
Most do. 66% (29 of 44) were working in North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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