US College Programs

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

  • 6 programs report first-year pay
  • 6 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 New Jersey theatre bachelor's program pays its graduates $17,570 in their first year, $3,245 less than the national median. Rutgers reports the highest first-year pay ($24,770), and Ramapo College of New Jersey the lowest median debt ($20,620).

Median first-year pay$17,570National $20,815
Median pay after 5 years$35,768National $34,512
Median federal debt$25,022National $25,000
Debt-to-earnings135%National 115%

All 6 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.

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

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 the 6 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. Rutgers$24,770
  2. Rowan University$18,558
  3. Montclair State$18,474
  4. Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus$16,666
  5. Ramapo College of New Jersey$15,372

Lowest median debt

  1. Ramapo College of New Jersey$20,620
  2. Rutgers$23,000
  3. Rowan University$25,000
  4. Montclair State$25,022
  5. Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus$25,139

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. Rutgers93%
  2. Ramapo College of New Jersey134%
  3. Rowan University135%
  4. Montclair State135%
  5. Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus151%

"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

$119,840

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $62,310Top 10%: $206,770

Writers and Authors

$81,590

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $49,770Top 10%: $128,820

Common questions

Rutgers in New Brunswick reports the highest median first-year pay, $24,770. Its median federal debt is $23,000.

Related pages

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 New Jersey 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

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024