Alabama·Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations·SOC 27-2032

Best Choreographer programs in Alabama, ranked by enrollment

Create new dance routines. Rehearse performance of routines.

6 schools in Alabama run programs that feed this job, graduating 69 people a year. The job pays a median of $38,990 in Alabama across about 30 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledDance MakerChoreographerDance DirectorOpera ChoreographerDance MasterDancing MasterBallet DirectorDance Instructor
Graduates / yr
69
in Alabama
Median pay · Alabama
$38,990
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
30
people employed
Schools
6
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
58%
across those schools
Median net price
$28,160
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Alabama that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

2 programs in Alabama that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Alabama (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Alabama page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 50.0301In Alabama
48
69.6%
4$21,877$25,000
2
CIP 50.0509In Alabama
21
30.4%
3$20,667$24,994

Top 6 schools in Alabama

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 6 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
24Dance, General$18,71673%77%
2Alabama State University
Montgomery, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
16Dance, General30%98%
3Samford University
Birmingham, AL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
11Musical Theatre77%$28,16082%
4University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
10Musical Theatre$26,67064%88%
5Troy University
Troy, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
7Dance, General50%96%
6University of Mobile
Mobile, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Musical Theatre57%$19,81778%

All 6 schools in Alabama

Every school in Alabama with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Alabama that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
The University of AlabamaTuscaloosaPublic241
Alabama State UniversityMontgomeryPublic161
Samford UniversityBirminghamPrivate not-for-profit112
University of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamPublic101
Troy UniversityTroyPublic71
University of MobileMobilePrivate not-for-profit11

What choreographers earn in Alabama

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Alabama
$38,990
Mean annual
$42,510
Jobs in state
30
What the range looks like
10th pct$35,550Median$38,99090th pct$49,080
Versus the national median
-29.5%

U.S. median $55,310. Alabama pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.84×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+6.1%
Faster than average
Openings per year
700
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
300
4,600 → 4,900
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Plus long-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Choreographers page.

How to become a Choreographer

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Work experience needed
5 years or more
On-the-job training
Long-term on-the-job training

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Active ListeningSpeakingMonitoringLearning StrategiesReading ComprehensionCritical Thinking

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Alabama

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 5 majors mapped to Choreographers5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 50.0301Dance, General
  • 50.0302Ballet
  • 50.0399Dance, Other
  • 50.0509Musical Theatre
  • 50.0512Theatre and Dance

Common questions

Answers for people weighing choreographers programs in Alabama.

What degree do you need to become a Choreographer?+

High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Dance, General, which awarded 48 degrees in Alabama in 2024-25, 69.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Choreographer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Dance, Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. Together they graduate about 69 people a year in Alabama.

How much do choreographers earn in Alabama?+

The median is $38,990 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 29.5% below the U.S. median of $55,310. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for choreographers growing?+

BLS projects a +6.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Alabama?+

6 institutions in Alabama reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do choreographers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Dance Maker, Choreographer, Dance Director, Opera Choreographer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-2032.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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