Best Entertainer programs in Pennsylvania, ranked by enrollment
All entertainers and performers, sports and related workers not listed.
46 schools in Pennsylvania run programs that feed this job, graduating 430 people a year. The job pays a median of $23.47/hr in Pennsylvania across about 860 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
4 programs in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Pennsylvania (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 Pennsylvania page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0501In Pennsylvania → | 331 | 77.0% | 37 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 2 | CIP 09.0906In Pennsylvania → | 64 | 14.9% | 8 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0507In Pennsylvania → | 24 | 5.6% | 4 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0599In Pennsylvania → | 11 | 2.6% | 4 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
Top 25 schools in Pennsylvania
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 14 of the 46 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 66 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $17,150 | 82% | $23,111 | 72% |
| 2 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 61 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $32,967 | 94% | $23,803 | 12% |
| 3 | Point Park University Pittsburgh, PA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 39 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $23,147 | 59% | $23,704 | 97% |
| 4 | DeSales University Center Valley, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $17,377 | 72% | $26,990 | 77% |
| 5 | Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 19 | Sports Communication | $36,632 | 82% | $23,620 | 81% |
| 6 | Temple University Philadelphia, PA Public · 3 feeder programs | 18 | Sports Communication | $41,165 | 75% | — | 80% |
| 7 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 85% | — | 58% |
| 8 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 71% | — | 78% |
| 9 | Arcadia University Glenside, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $17,203 | 67% | $23,796 | 80% |
| 10 | Albright College Reading, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 51% | $21,906 | 76% |
| 11 | Community College of Allegheny County Pittsburgh, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 24% | — | — |
| 12 | Community College of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 24% | — | — |
| 13 | Pennsylvania Western University California, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 52% | — | 94% |
| 14 | Robert Morris University Moon Township, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Sports Communication | — | 66% | $24,175 | 90% |
| 15 | Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Sports Communication | $39,651 | 77% | $32,060 | 84% |
| 16 | Montgomery County Community College Blue Bell, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 28% | — | — |
| 17 | Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $27,886 | 86% | — | 61% |
| 18 | Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 54% | — | 93% |
| 19 | Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $20,818 | 56% | — | 91% |
| 20 | Messiah University Mechanicsburg, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 75% | $25,675 | 79% |
| 21 | Ursinus College Collegeville, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 73% | $27,153 | 92% |
| 22 | Waynesburg University Waynesburg, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Sports Communication | — | 66% | $24,453 | 90% |
| 23 | Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 83% | $24,453 | 39% |
| 24 | Saint Vincent College Latrobe, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Sports Communication | — | 69% | $21,124 | 62% |
| 25 | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $33,169 | 66% | — | 71% |
All 46 schools in Pennsylvania
Every school in Pennsylvania 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muhlenberg College | Allentown | Private not-for-profit | 66 | 1 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh | Private not-for-profit | 61 | 3 |
| Point Park University | Pittsburgh | Private not-for-profit | 39 | 3 |
| DeSales University | Center Valley | Private not-for-profit | 24 | 1 |
| Susquehanna University | Selinsgrove | Private not-for-profit | 19 | 2 |
| Temple University | Philadelphia | Public | 18 | 3 |
| University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh | Public | 15 | 1 |
| West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Arcadia University | Glenside | Private not-for-profit | 11 | 1 |
| Albright College | Reading | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| Community College of Allegheny County | Pittsburgh | Public | 9 | 1 |
| Community College of Philadelphia | Philadelphia | Public | 9 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania Western University | California | Public | 9 | 1 |
| Robert Morris University | Moon Township | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 1 |
| Duquesne University | Pittsburgh | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 1 |
What entertainers and performers, sports and related workers, all other earn in Pennsylvania
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
BLS publishes an hourly wage only for this occupation. The work is intermittent, so no annual figure is estimated.
Concentrated here: Pennsylvania employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Pennsylvania, by employment
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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 Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers, All Other page.
How to become a Entertainer
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Pennsylvania
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers, All Other5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0906Sports Communication
- 50.0501Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General
- 50.0507Directing and Theatrical Production
- 50.0512Theatre and Dance
- 50.0599Dramatic/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing entertainers and performers, sports and related workers, all other programs in Pennsylvania.
What degree do you need to become an Entertainer?+
No formal educational credential is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General, which awarded 331 degrees in Pennsylvania in 2024-25, 77.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Entertainer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Public Relations. Together they graduate about 430 people a year in Pennsylvania.
How much do entertainers and performers, sports and related workers, all other earn in Pennsylvania?+
The median is $23.47 an hour (BLS OEWS May 2025). 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 entertainers and performers, sports and related workers, all other growing?+
BLS projects a +6.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 4,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Pennsylvania?+
46 institutions in Pennsylvania reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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.
Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+
BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'Short-term on-the-job training' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, 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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