Bennington College Theater Awarded #3 Ranking from Princeton Review 2026
The Princeton Review has released the 2026 edition of its annual college guide, and Bennington College’s strengths shine through in its rankings, with Bennington’s theater program ranked #3 in the nation this year.
Bennington comes ahead of competitors like Columbia University and New York University to attain this #3 ranking.
“Bennington College was the first college to put the visual and performing arts at the center of a liberal arts curriculum,” said Laura R. Walker, President. “We are proud to see how this tradition of excellence continues to be manifested by our students and alumni today. Top three recognition of our theater program by The Princeton Review speaks volumes about the dedication of and collaboration between our faculty and students and the high quality of their work both in the classroom and onstage.”
Nationally Ranked Theater Program
Drama at Bennington offers students a thorough grounding in virtually every dimension of theater-making, including acting, playwriting, devising, theater history, dramatic literature, dramaturgy, stage management, set design, costume design, and lighting. Students get access to state-of-the-art theater spaces, hands-on production experience, and abundant opportunities to get involved on all levels.
From studying Drama at Bennington, many students have continued on to study in graduate programs, pursue cross-disciplinary work, or carve out distinguished careers on stage, film, and television.
Beautiful, Inclusive, Engaged
The Princeton Review’s “Best Colleges” ranks colleges based on student surveys. Bennington is named among the Best Northeast and Green Colleges and earned top-ten rankings for Best College Theater (#3), Most Beautiful Campus (#3), Most Politically Active Students (#3), and LGBTQ-Friendly (#5).
As an inclusive and diverse community, students noted that Bennington is made up of a "colorful cast of wonderful, intelligent people who question the world around them in very significant ways" and is "full of people open to self-expression and being who you are, whoever you may be." The student body is "politically conscious [and] generally very engaged in their areas of interest and work."
Bennington was also ranked #11 for Best Classroom Experience, an accolade that is confirmed by the written comments to the publication’s surveys. Students said that the "flexibility and nimbleness of the institution allows for maximum creativity and independence,” and that the one-on-one mentorship students receive from faculty is "a game changer in terms of getting experience in your field."
Beyond the classroom, Field Work Term, the College’s required annual six-week internship experience, was praised as “life changing."