Which Florida theatre program has the lowest debt?

University of Florida reports the lowest median federal debt, $15,142, with first-year pay of $16,318.

How much do theatre graduates earn in Florida?

The median across 14 Florida theatre bachelor's programs is $20,170 in the first year after graduating and $32,432 five years after.

How many theatre bachelor's programs are in Florida?

14 Florida programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 11 of them also report federal debt.

Theatre (Bachelor's) Programs in Florida, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

14 programs report first-year pay
11 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Florida theatre bachelor's program pays its graduates $20,170 in their first year, $646 less than the national median. USF reports the highest first-year pay ($24,732), and University of Florida the lowest median debt ($15,142).

Median first-year pay$20,170National $20,815

Median pay after 5 years$32,432National $34,512

Median federal debt$21,585National $25,000

Debt-to-earnings114%National 115%

All 14 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	USFTampa · public	$24,732	$35,949	$26,849	109%
2	University of West FloridaPensacola · public	$23,852	$32,625	Not reported	Not reported
3	UCFOrlando · public	$23,708	$34,631	$21,585	91%
4	Rollins CollegeWinter Park · private nonprofit	$23,664	$29,650	Not reported	Not reported
5	Flagler CollegeSaint Augustine · private nonprofit	$23,099	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
6	Florida Southern CollegeLakeland · private nonprofit	$22,336	Not reported	$27,000	121%
7	Full Sail UniversityWinter Park · private for-profit	$20,226	$30,344	$20,500	101%
8	FIUMiami · public	$20,113	$30,242	$17,500	87%
9	FAUBoca Raton · public	$18,452	Not reported	$23,625	128%
10	Florida StateTallahassee · public	$18,431	$32,238	$21,000	114%
11	University of TampaTampa · private nonprofit	$17,196	Not reported	$26,000	151%
12	FAMUTallahassee · public	$16,695	Not reported	$21,959	132%
13	University of MiamiCoral Gables · private nonprofit	$16,561	Not reported	$19,000	115%
14	University of FloridaGainesville · public	$16,318	$35,412	$15,142	93%

University of West Florida, Rollins College, and Flagler College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Florida theatre program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 11 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

USF$24,732
University of West Florida$23,852
UCF$23,708
Rollins College$23,664
Flagler College$23,099

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

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

$79,920

Median pay in Florida. 7,160 people work in this job in Florida. 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%: $46,460Top 10%: $164,090

Writers and Authors

$68,080

Median pay in Florida. 3,010 people work in this job in Florida. 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%: $41,650Top 10%: $102,540

Common questions

USF in Tampa reports the highest median first-year pay, $24,732. Its median federal debt is $26,849.

Theatre (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked257 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 Florida rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the theatre bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024