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Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Tennessee

2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Tennessee

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

13 Colleges
$20,269 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$19,907 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Drama & Theater Arts School for You

With 203 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, drama and theater arts is the #69 most popular major in Tennessee.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Tennessee ranking. This report analyzed 13 schools in Tennessee to see which ones offered the best value 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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

Top 10 Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools

$4,430 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Chattanooga State Community College to be the best value school for drama and theater arts students who want to pursue a degree in Tennessee. Chattanooga State Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of Chattanooga.

Chattanooga State Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,430 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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$9,848 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Tennessee list. Located in the medium-sized city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UT Chattanooga are $9,848 per year.

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$9,438 Average Tuition & Fees

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at ETSU are $9,438 a year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at East Tennessee State University Report

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$9,232 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Middle Tennessee State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Tennessee list. Located in the midsize city of Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee State University is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Middle Tennessee State University undergraduate students pay an average of $9,232 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Theater majors at Middle Tennessee State University take out an average of $21,187 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Middle Tennessee State University Report

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$13,244 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is a great value for drama and theater arts students. Located in the city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public school with a very large student population.

UT Knoxville undergraduate students pay an average of $13,244 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, theater majors at UT Knoxville accumulate an average of around $22,500 in student debt.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UT Knoxville is ranked #4 for overall quality for theater in Tennessee.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Report

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#6

University of Memphis

Memphis, TN
$10,056 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Memphis ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Tennessee list. UofM is a very large public school located in the large city of Memphis.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UofM are $10,056 per year. After completing their degree, theater graduates from UofM carry an average student debtload of $25,500.

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#6

Austin Peay State University

Clarksville, TN
$8,431 Average Tuition & Fees

Austin Peay State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Tennessee list. Located in the city of Clarksville, Austin Peay State University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Austin Peay State University are $8,431 per year.

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#8

Freed-Hardeman University

Henderson, TN
$23,300 Average Tuition & Fees

Freed-Hardeman University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for drama and theater arts students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the town of Henderson, FHU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at FHU are $23,300 a year.

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#9

Lee University

Cleveland, TN
$20,500 Average Tuition & Fees

Lee University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Tennessee list. Lee University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Cleveland.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lee University are $20,500 per year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Lee University Report

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$26,898 Average Tuition & Fees

Trevecca Nazarene University 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. TNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at TNU are $26,898 a year.

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Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 453
Virginia 455
North Carolina 498
Florida 656
Kentucky 181
South Carolina 175
Louisiana 168
Arkansas 97
Alabama 147
Mississippi 64
West Virginia 49

Drama & Theater Arts is one of 10 different types of programs to choose from.

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 13 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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