2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Drama & Theater Arts School for You
Out of all the majors we analyze each year, drama and theater arts was ranked #60 in the country. In fact 17,341 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.
The Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 62 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which 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.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools
Our analysis found Mount Saint Mary’s University to be the best value school for drama and theater arts students who want to pursue a degree in the Far Western US Region . Located in the large city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MSMU are $45,388 per year.
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Out of the 62 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, National University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
National University undergraduate students pay an average of $13,320 in tuition and fees each year.
National University also claimed a spot on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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Out of the 62 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the # 3 spot on the list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $28,105 per year.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also claimed a spot on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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The excellent programs at Azusa Pacific University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best drama and theater arts schools in the Far Western US Region . Azusa Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Azusa.
Azusa Pacific undergraduate students pay an average of $41,510 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Drama & Theater Arts at Azusa Pacific University Report
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The excellent programs at San Jose State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best drama and theater arts schools in the Far Western US Region . San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jose State are $19,732 per year.
San Jose State also claimed a spot on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at San Jose State University
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California State University - Fullerton ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Cal State Fullerton are $18,856 a year. While working on their degree, theater majors at Cal State Fullerton accumulate an average of around $19,500 in student debt.
Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at California State University - Fullerton
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With a ranking of #7, College of Southern Nevada did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drama and theater arts students. Located in the city of Las Vegas, CSN is a public college with a very large student population.
CSN undergraduate students pay an average of $11,534 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Drama & Theater Arts at College of Southern Nevada Report
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Sonoma State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value drama and theater arts programs. SSU is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SSU are $19,868 a year.
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San Francisco State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value drama and theater arts programs. Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SFSU are $19,184 per year. On average, theater graduates from SFSU take out $17,250 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Drama & Theater Arts at San Francisco State University Report
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University of Nevada - Las Vegas did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for drama and theater arts students. It came in at #10 on the list. UNLV is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Las Vegas.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UNLV are $24,828 a year. On average, theater graduates from UNLV take out $22,002 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Drama & Theater Arts at University of Nevada - Las Vegas Report
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | California State University - East Bay | Hayward, CA |
| 11 | Western Washington University | Bellingham, WA |
Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges by State
Explore the best drama and theater arts schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| California | 2,820 |
| Washington | 230 |
| Oregon | 176 |
| Nevada | 82 |
| Hawaii | 20 |
| Alaska | 13 |
More Drama & Theater Arts Rankings in the Far Western US Region
Drama & Theater Arts Related Majors for Theater
One of 10 majors within the area of study, drama and theater arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
Majors Similar to Theater
| 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.