Dance Degree
Students study dance technique across multiple styles, choreography, dance history, kinesiology, and performance through intensive studio training alongside academic coursework. Graduates typically pursue careers as professional dancers, choreographers, dance teachers, dance therapists, and arts administrators for dance companies and performing arts organizations. Beyond performance careers, dance training develops discipline, creativity, and body awareness valued in fitness, therapy, and entertainment.
What Dance Graduates Do
Your career will likely begin on your feet, balancing performance with instruction. As a dancer, you’ll navigate a cycle of auditions, intensive rehearsals, and short-term contracts, demanding peak physical conditioning. Many simultaneously teach at local studios, developing curriculum for various age groups and often managing administrative tasks. With experience, you can transition into choreography, where your focus shifts from performing to conceptualizing new works and directing other dancers. Another long-term path is becoming a postsecondary instructor, mentoring the next generation of artists within a college or university setting.
While roles for choreographers and dancers are growing steadily, the most stable careers often blend performance, teaching, and creative work. The physical, person-to-person nature of this field makes it highly resistant to AI disruption. While some AI tools may assist educators with administrative tasks, the core work of demonstrating movement and providing hands-on correction remains fundamentally human-centric, a distinct advantage in an automating world.
Common Career Paths
Where Dance graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 11,500 combined openings per year.
| Career Path | Salary Range | Openings/yr | Growth | AI Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary | 9,000 | +1.7% | 44% | |
| Choreographers | 700 | +6.1% | 27% | |
| Dancers | N/A | 1,800 | +4.5% | 2% |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).
Best Schools for Dance
Top 20 of 62 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.
| # | School | DW Score | Earnings | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas State University San Marcos, TX |
39 33–40 |
$38,967/yr | 10.9x |
| 2 | Texas Woman's University Denton, TX |
31 25–32 |
$29,634/yr | 12.3x |
| 3 | Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX |
29 23–30 |
$33,340/yr | 6.9x |
| 4 | University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC |
28 22–29 |
$33,291/yr | 5.6x |
| 5 | Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI |
27 21–27 |
$31,999/yr | 4.4x |
| 6 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN |
26 20–26 |
$31,597/yr | 3.8x |
| 7 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA |
26 20–27 |
$30,353/yr | 8.6x |
| 8 | CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY |
26 21–27 |
$27,843/yr | 8.4x |
| 9 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ |
26 22–27 |
$27,310/yr | 9.0x |
| 10 | Ball State University Muncie, IN |
25 20–26 |
$28,838/yr | 5.7x |
| 11 | California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA |
24 18–25 |
$30,686/yr | 8.8x |
| 12 | University of North Texas Denton, TX |
23 19–24 |
$25,034/yr | 8.9x |
| 13 | California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA |
23 19–24 |
$24,087/yr | 7.5x |
| 14 | Radford University Radford, VA |
22 18–23 |
$26,476/yr | 4.4x |
| 15 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA |
22 18–23 |
$25,653/yr | -0.1x |
| 16 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI |
22 18–23 |
$25,456/yr | 5.4x |
| 17 | SUNY College at Potsdam Potsdam, NY |
22 18–23 |
$24,094/yr | 5.9x |
| 18 | Florida State University Tallahassee, FL |
22 19–23 |
$21,877/yr | 8.7x |
| 19 | University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT |
21 18–22 |
$24,125/yr | 5.5x |
| 20 | University of Arizona Tucson, AZ |
20 17–21 |
$24,826/yr | 3.6x |
Highest Earning Dance Programs
Schools where Dance graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.
| School | 1-Year Earnings | DW Score |
|---|---|---|
| Texas State University | $38,967/yr | 39 |
| Stephen F Austin State University | $33,340/yr | 29 |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia | $33,291/yr | 28 |
| Oakland University | $31,999/yr | 27 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | $31,597/yr | 26 |
| California State University-Long Beach | $30,686/yr | 24 |
| University of Iowa | $30,353/yr | 26 |
| Texas Woman's University | $29,634/yr | 31 |
| Ball State University | $28,838/yr | 25 |
| University of California-Irvine | $28,112/yr | 19 |
Best ROI for Dance
Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Dance.
| School | ROI Multiple | Earnings | DW Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Woman's University | 12.3x | $29,634/yr | 31 |
| Texas State University | 10.9x | $38,967/yr | 39 |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 9.0x | $23,587/yr | 19 |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 9.0x | $27,310/yr | 26 |
| Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania | 8.9x | $19,681/yr | 19 |
| University of North Texas | 8.9x | $25,034/yr | 23 |
| California State University-Long Beach | 8.8x | $30,686/yr | 24 |
| Florida State University | 8.7x | $21,877/yr | 22 |
| University of Iowa | 8.6x | $30,353/yr | 26 |
| CUNY Lehman College | 8.4x | $27,843/yr | 26 |
Related Majors
Explore similar fields of study.
Consider the Trade Route
Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Dance offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.