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Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

37 Colleges
$9,120 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$21,938 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree School for You

Drama & Theater Arts is the #47 most popular major in California with 2,820 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 37 schools in California to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for theater students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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 Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

Check out the theater bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo to be the best value school for drama and theater arts students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in California. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 a year.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State University - Fullerton is a great value for drama and theater arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Fullerton.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 a year. On average, theater graduates from Cal State Fullerton take out $19,606 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at California State University - Fullerton Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California 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.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at San Jose State University

Out of the 37 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - East Bay landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 per year.

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#5

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

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 Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SFSU are $7,304 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, theater majors at SFSU accumulate an average of around $19,191 in student debt.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at San Francisco State University Report

#6

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA

Sonoma State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. SSU is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Rohnert Park.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SSU are $7,988 a year.

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With a ranking of #7, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drama and theater arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year. Theater majors at CSULB take out an average of $20,221 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at California State University - Long Beach

California State University - Los Angeles came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public school with a very large student population.

Cal State LA undergraduate students pay an average of $6,785 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, theater graduates from Cal State LA take out $16,244 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree drama and theater arts programs. Located in the suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public school with a very large student population.

Cal Poly Pomona undergraduate students pay an average of $7,439 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, theater graduates from Cal Poly Pomona carry an average student debtload of $18,110.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

#10

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

With a ranking of #10, San Diego State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drama and theater arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large 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. Theater majors at SDSU take out an average of $17,612 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at San Diego State University Report

Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 230
Oregon 176
Nevada 82
Hawaii 20
Alaska 13

One of 10 majors within the area of study, drama and theater arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 37,413
Design & Applied Arts 36,301
Music 25,910
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 16,778
General Visual & Performing Arts 6,355

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 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 Donald Judge.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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