Colleges With Excellent Theater Programs

List produced by the Experts

* Green "Yes, connect me!" buttons indicate a featured school

AMDA New York (New York, NY)
Adelphi University (Garden City, NY)
Agnes Scott College (Decatur, GA)

Yes, connect me!
American Academy of Dramatic Arts (New York, NY)
American Conservatory Theater (San Francisco, CA)
American University (Washington, DC)
Arizona State University—Tempe (Tempe, AZ)
Bard College (Annandale on Hudson, NY)
Barnard College (New York, NY)
Beloit College (Beloit, WI)
Bennington College (Bennington, VT)
Boston University (Boston, MA)

Yes, connect me!
Brandeis University (Waltham, MA)
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (Bristol, UK)
California Institute of the Arts (Valencia, CA)
Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA): The Top Choice
Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH)

Yes, connect me!
Catawba College (Salisbury, NC)
Catholic University of America (Washington, DC)

Yes, connect me!
Chapman University (Orange, CA)
Columbia College Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Connecticut College (New London, CT)
Cornish College of the Arts (Seattle, WA)
DePaul University (Chicago, IL)
DeSales University (Center Valley, PA)

Yes, connect me!
Drama Centre London (London, UK)
Drew University (Madison, NJ)

Yes, connect me!
Elon University (Elon, NC)

Yes, connect me!
Emerson College (Boston, MA)

Yes, connect me!
Fordham University (Bronx, NY)

Yes, connect me!
Georgetown University (Washington, DC)
Goucher College (Baltimore, MD)

Yes, connect me!
Hampshire College (Amherst, MA)
Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY)

Yes, connect me!
Indiana University Bloomington (Bloomington, IN)
Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY)

Yes, connect me!
Jacksonville University (Jacksonville, FL)
Juilliard School (New York, NY)
Kean University (Union, NJ)

Yes, connect me!
Kenyon College (Gambier, OH)
London Academy of Music & Dramatic Arts (London, UK)
Long Island University—C.W. Post Campus (Brookville, NY)
Loyola University New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)
Manhattanville University (Purchase, NY)

Yes, connect me!
Marymount Manhattan College (New York, NY)

Yes, connect me!
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (North Adams, MA)
Miami Dade College (Miami, FL): New World School of the Arts
Mills College (Oakland, CA)
Moravian College (Bethlehem, PA)
Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA)
National Institute of Dramatic Art (Kensington, AUS)
Nebraska Wesleyan University (Lincoln, NE)
New York University (New York, NY)

Yes, connect me!
Niagara University (Niagara University, NY)
Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff, AZ)
Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)

Yes, connect me!
Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH)
Occidental College (Los Angeles, CA)
Otterbein University (Westerville, OH)
Pace University (New York, NY)

Yes, connect me!
Purchase College (Purchase, NY): The Second Choice
Roosevelt University (Chicago, IL)
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (London, UK)
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London, UK)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey—New Brunswick (New Brunswick, NJ)

Yes, connect me!
SUNY New Paltz (New Paltz, NY)
Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville, NY)
Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
Shepherd University (Shepherdstown, WV)
Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY)
Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX)

Yes, connect me!
Southern Oregon University (Ashland, OR)
Stamps School of Art & Design—University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)

Yes, connect me!
Stephens College (Columbia, MO)
Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY)
Temple University (Philadelphia, PA)
Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, TX)

Yes, connect me!
The University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX)
Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
Tufts University (Medford, MA)
University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA)
University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
University of California, Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA)
University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH)

Yes, connect me!
University of Colorado Boulder (Boulder, CO)

Yes, connect me!
University of Evansville (Evansville, IN)
University of Hartford (West Hartford, CT)
University of Houston (Houston, TX)
University of Idaho (Moscow, ID)

Yes, connect me!
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (Champaign, IL)
University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA)
University of Massachusetts Amherst (Amherst, MA)
University of Memphis (Memphis, TN)
University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL)
University of Minnesota—Twin Cities (Minneapolis, MN)
University of Missouri—Kansas City (Kansas City, MO)
University of New Hampshire (Durham, NH)
University of North Carolina School of the Arts (Winston-Salem, NC)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)
University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Viterbo University (La Crosse, WI)

Yes, connect me!
Wagner College (Staten Island, NY)

Yes, connect me!
Washington College (Chestertown, MD)

Yes, connect me!
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
Wheaton College (Norton, MA)

Yes, connect me!
Whitman College (Walla Walla, WA)

Yes, connect me!
Wilkes University (Wilkes-Barre, PA)
Willamette University (Salem, OR)
Wittenberg University (Springfield, OH)
Yale University (New Haven, CT)

Source: College Finder Research

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About This List

Most liberal arts and sciences colleges offer courses in theater...after all, it's a common subject. But where can you find college theater departments that go beyond the basics? The following schools are worth a second look. FYI, this list is from The College Finder 2017 edition!