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Best Value Dance Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Dance Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

16 Colleges
$21,815 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$19,813 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Dance School for You

In 2020-2021, 483 degrees and certificates were awarded to dance students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #127 most popular major in the state.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Dance Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 16 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for dance students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Dance Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Dance Colleges.

Top 10 Best Dance Schools

#1

San Diego Mesa College

San Diego, CA
$1,144 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found San Diego Mesa College to be the best value school for dance students who want to pursue a degree in California. San Diego Mesa College is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Diego.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Diego Mesa College are $1,144 per year.

Read More…

Out of the 16 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Jose State University landed the # 2 spot on the list. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Jose.

San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,852 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, San Jose State also is in the top 20% of our Best Dance Schools in California ranking.

Read full report on Dance at San Jose State University

$6,976 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Dance Schools in California list. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Fullerton.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 per year. While working on their degree, dance majors at Cal State Fullerton accumulate an average of around $22,769 in student debt.

Read full report on Dance at California State University - Fullerton

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Dance Schools in California list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

CSULB undergraduate students pay an average of $6,846 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, dance graduates from CSULB take out $18,750 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Dance at California State University - Long Beach Report

#5

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA
$7,304 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Francisco State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Dance Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SFSU are $7,304 a year.

Full Dance at San Francisco State University Report

#6

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
$8,136 Average Tuition & Fees

San Diego State University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value dance programs. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SDSU are $8,136 per year.

Read full report on Dance at San Diego State University

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Berkeley came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Dance Schools in California ranking. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

UC Berkeley undergraduate students pay an average of $14,226 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Dance Schools in California list.

Read More…

$13,775 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Irvine came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Dance Schools in California ranking. UC Irvine is a very large public school located in the city of Irvine.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Irvine are $13,775 a year. After completing their degree, dance graduates from UC Irvine carry an average student debtload of $19,500.

Full Dance at University of California - Irvine Report

$14,417 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for dance students. It came in at #9 on the list. UCSB is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Santa Barbara.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCSB are $14,417 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCSB also is in the top 10% of our Best Dance Schools in California ranking.

Full Dance at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

$13,754 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Riverside landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value dance programs. UCR is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Riverside.

UCR undergraduate students pay an average of $13,754 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Dance at University of California - Riverside

Best Value Dance Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Dance Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 53
Oregon 20
Nevada 30
Hawaii 4

More Dance Rankings in California

Dance is one of 10 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 37,413
Design & Applied Arts 36,301
Music 25,910
Drama & Theater Arts 17,341
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 16,778

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 16 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Jazzart Dance Theatre.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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