Get my odds
University Park, PA · Theater & drama

Theater & drama at Penn State

Penn State graduates about 33 theater majors a year. That puts it 27th of 642 schools we score for theater, a standout program at 89 out of 100. Graduates in the major earn a median $45,000 four years out, 1.11× what the same major pays nationally. Research spending in the field runs about $1 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

89/100Standout#27 of 642 for theater →
Graduates a year33under 1% of the class
Median pay 4 years out$45,0001.11× the same major nationally
Research in the field$1Ma year, NSF
Admit rate61%whole school
SAT middle 50%1280–1410whole school

Around Penn State

Lit performing at Penn State's "Movin' On" concert series overnight from 10-11 J
2004 07 11 - State College - Lit 07 (3049357864)Photo: thisisbossi · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
University Park, PA, USA
University Park, PA, USA - panoramio (8)Photo: thomasrive · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
The Thomas Building at Penn State University Park. It contains classrooms, the s
Thomas Building Penn State University ParkPhoto: JohnDziak · CC0 · source
Hetzel Union Building-Robeson Center at Penn State University
HUB Robeson Center, west side entrancePhoto: JohnDziak · CC0 · source

Where theater happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: Theatre Building.

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 279 · Dorm 62 · Student housing 45 · Athletics 13 · Arts 13 · Dining 8.

Open the full-screen campus map →

Nearby in the theater ranking

  1. Brown University 90
  2. Williams College 90
  3. Tulane University of Louisiana 90
  4. Virginia Tech 89
  5. The University of Oklahoma 89
  6. University of Connecticut 89
  7. CUNY–Hunter College 89
  8. University of Massachusetts–Amherst 88

Other strong majors at Penn State

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares Penn State with every school we score in theater. It weighs what graduates earn four years out against the same major nationally (25%), research spending in the field (20%, NSF), how many undergraduate courses the department lists (20%), the student body's test scores (20%) and the size of the program (15%, capped so size alone can't win). 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

See your odds at Penn State Everything about Penn State