Utah Valley University Theatre (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
- Public university
- Orem, UT
- About 26 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Utah Valley University theatre graduates earn more than graduates of most theatre programs nationally, $23,896 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $16,510 in federal loans, less than at 92% of theatre programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying theatre degrees in Utah.
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.
Five years out, Utah Valley University graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as 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.
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 71% 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 $175 a month, or 8.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Provo area are about 2% below the national average, so a $23,896 salary here buys what about $24,326 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
$76,350Median 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.
Writers and Authors
$64,530Median 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.
About Utah Valley University
Theatre ranks 41st of 42 bachelor's programs at Utah Valley University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($85,564), Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering ($80,491), and Information Science ($79,918).
Other theatre bachelor's programs near Orem
Common questions
The median graduate earns $23,896 one year after graduating and $40,910 five years after. The median across theatre bachelor's programs in Utah is $23,341.
The median federal loan balance is $16,510, which ranks 2nd lowest of 5 theatre bachelor's programs in Utah. That works out to about $175 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 69% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 115%.
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