2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Drama & Theater Arts Undergraduate Certificate 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 Undergraduate Certificate Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in the United States to see which undergraduate certificate 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.
Best Schools for Affordable Quality for an Award Taking 1 to 4 Years in Drama & Theater Arts
Our 2023 rankings named Scottsdale Community College the best value school in the United States for drama and theater arts students working on their undergraduate certificate. Located in the rural area of Scottsdale, Scottsdale Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Scottsdale Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,854 in tuition and fees each year.
Scottsdale Community College also claimed a spot on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
Full Drama & Theater Arts at Scottsdale Community College Report
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The excellent undergraduate certificate programs at Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value drama and theater arts schools in the United States. Located in the large city of New York City, Neighborhood Playhouse School is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
Neighborhood Playhouse School undergraduate students pay an average of $17,400 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Drama & Theater Arts at Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater Report
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend American Musical and Dramatic Academy. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools list. American Musical and Dramatic Academy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at American Musical and Dramatic Academy are $42,960 a year. The average amount in student loans that theater majors at American Musical and Dramatic Academy take out while working on their Undergraduate Certificate is $13,308. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $655, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Cincinnati - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public school with a very large student population.
UC undergraduate students pay an average of $27,111 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
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The excellent undergraduate certificate programs at Missouri Southern State University 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. Missouri Southern is a small public school located in the small city of Joplin.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Missouri Southern are $15,896 per year.
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American Academy of Dramatic Arts - New York came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools ranking. American Academy of Dramatic Arts - New York is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
American Academy of Dramatic Arts - New York undergraduate students pay an average of $37,230 in tuition and fees each year.
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American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate drama and theater arts programs. American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles are $37,230 per year.
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George Washington University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
GWU undergraduate students pay an average of $57,984 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #9, New York Film Academy did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drama and theater arts students working on their undergraduate certificate. New York Film Academy is a small private for-profit school located in the midsize city of Burbank.
New York Film Academy undergraduate students pay an average of $34,090 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Undergraduate Certificate, theater graduates from New York Film Academy carry an average student debtload of $13,429. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $408.
Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at New York Film Academy
Request InformationDrama & Theater Arts by Region
View the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
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| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
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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 9 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.