At the beginning of each new school year, we here at OnStage Blog like to announce what we feel are the best performing arts for the coming year. For those of you wondering how we select these schools, it starts in the previous spring.

Starting in April, we tasked a committee of just over 20 people to research these programs. They consisted of theatre educators, students, alumni, and parents. We wanted people who knew how to evaluate a performing arts program and what questions to ask. This is what we feel separates us from every other college ranking article, these folks know what’s important in theatre education.

This year we based our criteria on a number of factors including Cost vs. Scholarships, Quality of Facilities, Performance/Production Opportunities, and Post-Graduate Support. We also asked questions about the diversity of students as well as the faculty.

Each year, we also like to include a new category that factor into our rankings - on/off-campus safety. We feel this is a factor that is often not made a priority. So in addition to cold-calling the schools, we also took a look at their Clery Reports and asked questions about how proactive these schools are when it comes to safety.

This year we also decided not to rank the schools 1-30. When looking at the scores, often these schools were separated by one to two points. So rather, this year we’re simply naming who we feel are the best, in no particular order.

We must also preface this by saying that while these are some great schools to start your search with, ultimately the best college theatre program out there is the one you feel most confident and comfortable attending.

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The entertainment industry is constantly being impacted by the evolution of technology. Because of this, college theatre design and tech programs have to evolve with it. Programs are offering new classes, bringing in innovative guests and implementing the newest stage technology into their productions. Needless to say, it’s an exciting time to be in theatre design and tech.

Here are 30 programs we feel are doing some amazing things onstage and behind the scenes.

Point Park University - Pittsburgh, PA