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Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools

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2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

139 Colleges
$14,496 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,542 Avg Salary

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

In 2020-2021, 17,341 people earned a degree or certificate in drama and theater arts, making the major the #60 most popular in the United States.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 139 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for theater students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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.

2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 15% Best Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Columbia College Chicago to be the best value school for drama and theater arts students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Columbia is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Columbia graduate students pay an average of $2,350 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Columbia College Chicago Report

#2

Lindenwood University

Saint Charles, MO

Out of the 139 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Lindenwood University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Lindenwood University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Saint Charles.

Lindenwood University graduate students pay an average of $9,784 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Lindenwood University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Minnesota State University - Mankato. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Mankato.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Minnesota State Mankato are $9,308 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Minnesota State Mankato is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools list.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Minnesota State University - Mankato Report

#4

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

The excellent master’s degree programs at Mount Saint Mary’s University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value drama and theater arts schools in the United States. Located in the city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at MSMU are $13,099 a year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Mount Saint Mary’s University Report

#5

Stephens College

Columbia, MO

The excellent master’s degree programs at Stephens College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value drama and theater arts schools in the United States. Stephens is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Columbia.

Stephens graduate students pay an average of $9,230 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Stephens also is in the top 15% of our Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools ranking.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Stephens College

Texas A&M University - Commerce did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for drama and theater arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the distant town of Commerce, Texas A&M Commerce is a public school with a large student population.

Texas A&M Commerce graduate students pay an average of $14,682 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Texas A&M University - Commerce Report

#7

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD

University of South Dakota ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the distant town of Vermillion, USD is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

USD graduate students pay an average of $12,768 in tuition and fees each year.

USD excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools list.

Read More…

#8

National University

La Jolla, CA

With a ranking of #8, National University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drama and theater arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at National University are $15,480 a year.

Read More…

Illinois State University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Illinois State are $11,773 per year.

Illinois State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools list.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Illinois State University

#10

The Graduate Center, CUNY

New York, NY

The Graduate Center, CUNY came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools ranking. The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the city of New York.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at The Graduate Center are $23,640 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, The Graduate Center also did well on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at The Graduate Center, CUNY Report

With a ranking of #11, Texas Woman’s University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drama and theater arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Denton, TWU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

TWU graduate students pay an average of $15,048 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Texas Woman’s University

University of Southern Mississippi ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Hattiesburg, Southern Miss is a public college with a large student population.

Southern Miss graduate students pay an average of $11,204 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at University of Southern Mississippi

Northern Illinois University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at NIU are $11,390 per year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Northern Illinois University Report

University of Nebraska - Lincoln ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Lincoln, UNL is a public college with a fairly large student population.

UNL graduate students pay an average of $19,541 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UNL also is in the top 10% of our Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools ranking.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Azusa Pacific University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree drama and theater arts programs. Azusa Pacific is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Azusa.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Azusa Pacific are $16,696 a year.

Read More…

#16

Regent University

Virginia Beach, VA

With a ranking of #16, Regent University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drama and theater arts students working on their master’s degree. Regent is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Virginia Beach.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Regent are $17,190 a year.

Read More…

#16

Montclair State University

Montclair, NJ

Montclair State University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Montclair State is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Montclair.

Montclair State graduate students pay an average of $13,519 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Montclair State University

#18

Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS

Kansas State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for drama and theater arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. K -State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Manhattan.

K -State graduate students pay an average of $23,949 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Kansas State University Report

Western Illinois University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree drama and theater arts programs. WIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.

WIU graduate students pay an average of $12,182 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Western Illinois University

#20

University of Houston

Houston, TX

With a ranking of #20, University of Houston did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drama and theater arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Houston, UH is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UH are $18,871 a year.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at University of Houston

Honorable Mentions

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 Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
21 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
22 Rowan University Glassboro, NJ
23 Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City, OK
24 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
24 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
26 University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA
27 Mississippi University for Women Columbus, MS

Drama & Theater Arts by Region

View the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

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.

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