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Best Schools for Dance in 2026

62 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Dance, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Dance graduate earns $22,513/yr across 62 schools.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$22,513/yr

Avg DW Score

18/100

AI Risk

Low

21% task exposure

All Dance Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Texas State University San Marcos, TX · Public	39 33–40	$38,967/yr	10.9x
2	Texas Woman's University Denton, TX · Public	31 25–32	$29,634/yr	12.3x
3	Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX · Public	29 23–30	$33,340/yr	6.9x
4	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC · Public	28 22–29	$33,291/yr	5.6x
5	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI · Public	27 21–27	$31,999/yr	4.4x
6	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	26 22–27	$27,310/yr	9.0x
7	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA · Public	26 20–27	$30,353/yr	8.6x
8	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN · Public	26 20–26	$31,597/yr	3.8x
9	CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY · Public	26 21–27	$27,843/yr	8.4x
10	Ball State University Muncie, IN · Public	25 20–26	$28,838/yr	5.7x
11	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA · Public	24 18–25	$30,686/yr	8.8x
12	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA · Public	23 19–24	$24,087/yr	7.5x
13	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	23 19–24	$25,034/yr	8.9x
14	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit	22 18–23	$25,653/yr	-0.1x
15	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL · Public	22 19–23	$21,877/yr	8.7x
16	SUNY College at Potsdam Potsdam, NY · Public	22 18–23	$24,094/yr	5.9x
17	Radford University Radford, VA · Public	22 18–23	$26,476/yr	4.4x
18	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI · Public	22 18–23	$25,456/yr	5.4x
19	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT · Public	21 18–22	$24,125/yr	5.5x
20	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public	20 17–21	$24,826/yr	3.6x
21	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA · Public	20 18–21	$18,888/yr	7.2x
22	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA · Public	19 14–20	$28,112/yr	4.8x
23	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV · Public	19 16–20	$20,417/yr	4.6x
24	Pace University New York, NY · Private nonprofit	19 16–19	$19,614/yr	-0.0x
25	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC · Public	19 16–20	$23,587/yr	9.0x
26	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA · Public	19 17–20	$19,681/yr	8.9x
27	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI · Public	19 17–20	$20,625/yr	4.8x
28	University of South Florida Tampa, FL · Public	18 16–19	$16,389/yr	5.4x
29	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC · Public	18 14–19	$24,295/yr	7.6x
30	Wayne State University Detroit, MI · Public	17 13–17	$23,626/yr	5.1x
31	American Musical and Dramatic Academy New York, NY · Private nonprofit	17 16–18	$15,881/yr	-0.1x
32	The Juilliard School New York, NY · Private nonprofit	17 16–18	$14,220/yr	-0.4x
33	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	17 15–18	$21,167/yr	6.8x
34	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL · Public	16 14–17	$18,716/yr	2.9x
35	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	16 14–17	$19,787/yr	2.6x
36	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY · Public	16 14–17	$17,110/yr	3.0x
37	Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX · Public	16 14–17	$19,202/yr	8.0x
38	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA · Public	16 13–17	$20,397/yr	2.1x
39	Berklee College of Music Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	15 12–16	$22,993/yr	-0.1x
40	Hope College Holland, MI · Private nonprofit	15 12–16	$23,050/yr	0.4x
41	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ · Public	15 11–16	$23,191/yr	3.7x
42	University of North Carolina School of the Arts Winston Salem, NC · Public	15 14–16	$14,201/yr	2.7x
43	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK · Public	15 14–16	$14,632/yr	2.8x
44	University of Florida Gainesville, FL · Public	14 13–15	$16,639/yr	7.5x
45	Anderson University Anderson, IN · Private nonprofit	14 11–15	$20,329/yr	0.4x
46	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN · Public	14 13–15	$14,831/yr	2.1x
47	DeSales University Center Valley, PA · Private nonprofit	14 11–15	$20,611/yr	0.2x
48	Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA · Private nonprofit	14 10–15	$26,415/yr	1.3x
49	Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI · Public	13 10–14	$21,540/yr	3.1x
50	Cornish College of the Arts Seattle, WA · Private nonprofit	13 8–14	$27,255/yr	0.4x
51	Belhaven University Jackson, MS · Private nonprofit	12 11–13	$15,711/yr	0.3x
52	SUNY at Purchase College Purchase, NY · Public	12 11–12	$12,039/yr	5.1x
53	George Mason University Fairfax, VA · Public	12 11–13	$12,409/yr	1.2x
54	Dean College Franklin, MA · Private nonprofit	11 7–12	$24,236/yr	0.8x
55	Rider University Lawrenceville, NJ · Private nonprofit	11 7–12	$24,515/yr	1.0x
56	Marymount Manhattan College New York, NY · Private nonprofit	10 7–11	$21,880/yr	1.2x
57	Chapman University Orange, CA · Private nonprofit	9 6–10	$21,275/yr	0.3x
58	Fordham University Bronx, NY · Private nonprofit	9 6–9	$20,381/yr	0.4x
59	Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City, OK · Private nonprofit	9 7–10	$19,548/yr	1.5x
60	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit	8 6–9	$19,107/yr	0.5x
61	Point Park University Pittsburgh, PA · Private nonprofit	8 6–9	$17,781/yr	0.9x
62	University of the Arts Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	7 5–7	$14,033/yr	0.3x

Methodology

Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Dance?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score, Texas State University ranks #1 for Dance with a score of 39/100 and graduate earnings of $38,967/yr.

How much do Dance graduates earn?

Across 62 schools, Dance graduates earn an average of $22,513/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $38,967/yr.

Is Dance a good major for AI resistance?

Dance has an average AI task exposure of 21%, rated "Low". This is a relatively AI-resistant field.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.