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Major · Visual & Performing Arts

A studio-heavy bachelor’s into a tight performance market

Dance, General (CIP 50.0301) is a studio-based bachelor’s major covering ballet, modern, jazz, and dance history alongside choreography, Laban notation, and dance production. Roughly 2,550 students complete the degree across 342 institutions, with five-year earnings around $41,709 — well below most bachelor’s majors.

Schools offering
342
Annual completions
2,550
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$42k

About this major

Dance, General (CIP 50.0301) is a studio-based bachelor’s major that prepares students to perform, choreograph, and analyze dance across ballet, modern, jazz, ethnic, and folk traditions. The CIP definition organizes coursework around three threads: technique and performance, choreography and Laban notation, and dance history and criticism, layered onto stagecraft and dance production. Most accredited programs run four years with daily technique classes, evening rehearsal calls, and a culminating senior performance or choreographic thesis.

The major fits students with a serious pre-college training base and a tolerance for high-volume rehearsal time. It rewards physical discipline, kinesthetic intelligence, and a willingness to take direction in a critique-heavy environment. Many programs require an audition for admission, so the demographic skews toward dancers who already train multiple hours a week.

One grounded observation about scale: 2,550 students complete this CIP each year across 342 institutions, with five-year median earnings of $41,709 — meaningfully below most bachelor’s majors. The top BLS career, Dancers, has no published national wage and is projected to grow 4.5%. Choreographers earn around $55,600 with 6.1% growth. The higher-wage tracked occupation, postsecondary art and drama teaching at $80,190, requires a master’s. Read the earnings figure as a working-dancer composite, not a salaried mid-career number.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary $80k +1.7% Master's degree
Dancers — +4.5% No formal educational credential
Choreographers $56k +6.1% High school diploma or equivalent
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$42k

Who this major is for

Good signs this major fits: you’re already training seriously and want a structured environment to deepen technique, you welcome daily critique and the audition culture that defines the field, you’re drawn to the analytical side as much as the studio — choreography, dance history, and notation — and you’re open to building a career out of multiple income streams. The data backs the path for students who treat performance as one component of a broader portfolio: working dancers stack performing with teaching, choreography, studio work, and arts administration.

Reasons to pause: the five-year median of $41,709 is significantly below most bachelor’s majors, and the top tracked occupation (Dancers) has no published wage because the work is heavily contract-based. If you want a salaried path with predictable career progression, the math is hard. The highest-wage tracked occupation — postsecondary teacher at $80,190 — requires a master’s, so the bachelor’s functions as a launching pad, not a finish line. Reconsider this route if you want dance as a hobby alongside a different career; minoring in dance while majoring in education, kinesiology, or arts administration may serve you better.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Dance, General

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Point Park University Pittsburgh, PA 0 63 63
New York University New York, NY 0 48 48
Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City, OK 0 44 44
Texas State University San Marcos, TX 0 41 41
SUNY at Purchase College Purchase, NY 0 40 40
University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 0 40 40
Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH 0 40 40
Fordham University Bronx, NY 0 37 37
California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA 0 36 36
University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA 0 35 35
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Musical Theatre

1,121 completions/yr

Theatre and Dance

116 completions/yr

Dance, Other

80 completions/yr

Ballet

42 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do dance majors actually study day-to-day?
Most days center on technique classes — ballet, modern, jazz — paired with choreography, repertory rehearsal, dance history, kinesiology, and stagecraft. The CIP definition lists Laban notation, dance criticism, and dance production as common course content alongside performance work. Expect long studio hours, an evening rehearsal calendar, and a culminating senior thesis or performance.
Do I need a bachelor’s, or is an associate’s enough for dance?
The data leans heavily toward the bachelor’s. The packet shows associate’s completions are essentially zero across the top ten programs — Point Park, NYU, Oklahoma City, Texas State, SUNY Purchase, Fordham, Cal State Long Beach, UC Irvine, Ohio State, and Arizona all run bachelor’s programs. The five-year median earnings figure of $41,709 reflects bachelor’s graduates only; an associate’s is rarely the credential for this major.
What kinds of jobs do dance graduates actually land?
The BLS-tracked occupations are Dancers (no formal credential required, no national wage figure published), Choreographers (around $55,600, 6.1% growth), and Postsecondary art/drama/music teachers (about $80,190, master’s required). Realistic destinations also include teaching at private studios, K-12 dance education with state licensure, dance company administration, and arts nonprofit work. Performance careers are short and competition is heavy.
How realistic is a full-time performance career?
Pair the 4.5% projected growth for Dancers with the reality that the field runs on auditions, short contracts, and freelance gigs — full-time company spots are rare. Most working dancers stack performance income with teaching, choreography, and other arts work. Plan on early-career mobility, frequent auditions, and an injury-shortened performance window.
What if I love dance but want a more stable career path?
Several adjacent options preserve the dance investment. Dance-themed pathways include K-12 dance education (paired with state teacher certification), dance therapy (master’s in dance/movement therapy after the bachelor’s), arts administration, and physical therapy or kinesiology graduate programs that build on dance training. Related majors like Musical Theatre (1,121 completions) or Theatre and Dance (116) widen the performance lane.
Where are the strongest dance programs concentrated?
The top producers split between conservatory-style private programs and large public universities. Point Park (63 completions) and NYU (48) lead, followed by Oklahoma City University, Texas State, SUNY Purchase, Fordham, Cal State Long Beach, UC Irvine, Ohio State, and Arizona — each producing 35-44 graduates a year. The list reflects a national, not regional, audition pipeline.