Best Entertainer programs in Tennessee, ranked by enrollment
All entertainers and performers, sports and related workers not listed.
15 schools in Tennessee run programs that feed this job, graduating 128 people a year. The job pays a median of $19.92/hr in Tennessee across about 280 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Tennessee that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
4 programs in Tennessee that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Tennessee (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 Tennessee page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0501In Tennessee → | 113 | 88.3% | 12 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 2 | CIP 09.0906In Tennessee → | 7 | 5.5% | 2 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0507In Tennessee → | 4 | 3.1% | 1 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0599In Tennessee → | 4 | 3.1% | 1 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
Top 15 schools in Tennessee
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 15 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Memphis Memphis, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $19,055 | 51% | — | 72% |
| 2 | The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $21,189 | 74% | — | 42% |
| 3 | Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $17,860 | 54% | — | 69% |
| 4 | East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 53% | — | 86% |
| 5 | The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 50% | — | 81% |
| 6 | Austin Peay State University Clarksville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 40% | — | 96% |
| 7 | Belmont University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Directing and Theatrical Production | — | 71% | $29,246 | 95% |
| 8 | Maryville College Maryville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 50% | $20,489 | 61% |
| 9 | Lipscomb University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Sports Communication | — | 72% | $24,309 | 68% |
| 10 | Lee University Cleveland, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Dramatic/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Other | — | 63% | $18,918 | 71% |
| 11 | Bryan College - Dayton Dayton, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 50% | $16,130 | — |
| 12 | Tennessee Wesleyan University Athens, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Sports Communication | — | 48% | $14,614 | 69% |
| 13 | Trevecca Nazarene University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 53% | $14,286 | 69% |
| 14 | The University of the South Sewanee, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 80% | $21,573 | 57% |
| 15 | Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 94% | $14,854 | 6% |
All 15 schools in Tennessee
Every school in Tennessee 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Memphis | Memphis | Public | 29 | 1 |
| The University of Tennessee - Knoxville | Knoxville | Public | 26 | 1 |
| Middle Tennessee State University | Murfreesboro | Public | 17 | 1 |
| East Tennessee State University | Johnson City | Public | 11 | 1 |
| The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga | Chattanooga | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Austin Peay State University | Clarksville | Public | 7 | 1 |
| Belmont University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 2 |
| Maryville College | Maryville | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Lipscomb University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| Lee University | Cleveland | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Bryan College - Dayton | Dayton | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Tennessee Wesleyan University | Athens | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Trevecca Nazarene University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| The University of the South | Sewanee | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What entertainers and performers, sports and related workers, all other earn in Tennessee
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.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Tennessee, 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 Tennessee
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 Tennessee.
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 113 degrees in Tennessee in 2024-25, 88.3% 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 128 people a year in Tennessee.
How much do entertainers and performers, sports and related workers, all other earn in Tennessee?+
The median is $19.92 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 Tennessee?+
15 institutions in Tennessee 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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