Drama & Dance Education

Types of Degrees Drama & Dance Education Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many drama and dance education graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	162
Master’s Degree	118
Graduate Certificate	12
Basic Certificate	1

What Drama & Dance Education Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to drama education and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Drama Education Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in drama education should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for Drama Education Majors

drama education majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Abilities for Drama Education Majors

A major in drama education will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Drama & Dance Education Major?

People with a drama education degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Art, Drama, and Music Professors	12.0%	$69,960
Education Professors	10.3%	$64,780
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$58,600
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$60,320

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Drama & Dance Education?

This major is dominated by women with about 79% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of drama education majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2
Black or African American	5
Hispanic or Latino	22
White	120
International Students	1
Other Races/Ethnicities	12

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Drama Education. About 0.6% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Drama & Dance Education Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Drama Education majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $62,030 to $73,680 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Drama & Dance Education

Some careers associated with drama education require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for drama education careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	34.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	7.5%
Master’s Degree	28.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.1%
Doctoral Degree	25.6%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.0%

Online Drama & Dance Education Programs

In 2020-2021, 93 schools offered a drama education program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	10	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	21	1
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Drama & Dance Education Worth It?

The median salary for a drama education grad is $64,340 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 61% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $488,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Drama & Dance Education

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to drama education.

Major	Number of Grads
Physical Education Teaching & Coaching	8,121
Reading Teacher Education	6,490
Music Education	4,761
Mathematics Education	3,395
English & Language Arts Education	3,113
Other Teacher Education & Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	2,335
Social Studies Education	1,968
Art Education	1,837
Health Education	1,801
Science Education	1,371
Agricultural Teacher Education	1,130
Biology Education	865
History Education	804
Trade & Industrial Teacher Education	715
Technology Education	575
Social Science Teacher Education	474
Technical Teacher Education	462
Spanish Education	457
School Librarian/School Library Media Specialist	370
Modern Language Education	338
Family & Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher Education	286
Chemistry Education	238
Computer Teacher Education	217
Business and Innovation/Entrepreneurship Teacher Education	185
Earth Science Teacher Education	169
Physics Education	152
Environmental Education	96
Speech Teacher Education	68
Driver & Safety Teacher Education	55
French Language Teacher Education	55
Health Occupations Teacher Education	48
Communication Arts and Literature Teacher Education	22
Distributive Education	11
German Language Teacher Education	8
Psychology Teacher Education	5
Latin Teacher Education	4
Geography Teacher Education	3

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Aparajita Datta under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.