College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2023 Best Value Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts in New Jersey

10 Ranked Colleges
210 Degrees Awarded
$20,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 17,341 people earned their degree in drama and theater arts, making the major the 59th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, drama and theater arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $23,190 and had an average of $23,522 in loans still to pay off.

Across New Jersey, there were 210 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $20,105 and $24,549 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in drama and theater arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent drama and theater arts programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the drama and theater arts program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Drama & Theater Arts Schools

Rankings by Degree Other Award Levels
Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Theater Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts in New Jersey

1
Rutgers New Brunswick crest
Rutgers University - New Brunswick
New Brunswick, New Jersey

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey that were part of this year’s ranking, Rutgers University - New Brunswick landed the #1 spot on the list. New Brunswick, New Jersey is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s theater degrees to 44 students in 2020-2021.

Rutgers New Brunswick not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in New Jersey” list. It costs about $23,035 for new jersey theater students per year to attend Rutgers New Brunswick.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Rutgers New Brunswick Drama & Theater Arts Report

2
Montclair State crest
Montclair State University
Montclair, New Jersey

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey that were part of this year’s ranking, Montclair State University landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Montclair, New Jersey, and it awarded 62 ’s theater degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Montclair State, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in New Jersey” ranking. It costs about $17,381 for New Jersey Theater students per year to attend Montclair State University.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Montclair State University

3
Kean crest
Kean University
Union, New Jersey

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey that were part of this year’s ranking, Kean University landed the #3 spot on the list. Kean is a fairly large public school situated in Union, New Jersey. It awarded 17 ’s theater degrees in 2020-2021.

Kean did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in New Jersey” list. It costs about $18,191 for New Jersey Theater students per year to attend Kean.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Kean University

4
Rowan crest
Rowan University
Glassboro, New Jersey

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Rowan University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey. Glassboro, New Jersey is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s theater degrees to 19 students in 2020-2021.

Rowan not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in New Jersey” list. The estimated yearly cost for Rowan is $27,158 for New Jersey Theater students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Rowan

5

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ramapo College of New Jersey. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey. Ramapo College of New Jersey is a public institution located in Mahwah, New Jersey. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Ramapo College also made our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in New Jersey” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $21,707 for new jersey theater students per year to attend Ramapo College.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Full Ramapo College of New Jersey Drama & Theater Arts Report

6

New Jersey Institute of Technology came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey ranking. Located in Newark, New Jersey, this fairly large public school awarded 3 degrees to qualified ’s theater students in 2020-2021.

NJIT did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in New Jersey” list. It costs about $18,582 for new jersey theater students per year to attend NJIT.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full New Jersey Institute of Technology Drama & Theater Arts Report

7
Rutgers Camden crest
Rutgers University - Camden
Camden, New Jersey

Rutgers University - Camden came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Camden, New Jersey, and it awarded 8 ’s theater degrees in 2020-2021.

Rutgers Camden also made our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in New Jersey” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $16,369 for new jersey theater students per year to attend Rutgers Camden.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Rutgers Camden Drama & Theater Arts Report

8
Rutgers Newark crest
Rutgers University - Newark
Newark, New Jersey

Rutgers University - Newark came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey ranking. Rutgers Newark is located in Newark, New Jersey and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 ’s theater degrees to qualified students.

Rutgers Newark not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in New Jersey” list. The estimated yearly cost for Rutgers Newark is $15,996 for new jersey theater students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Rutgers University - Newark

9
Rider crest
Rider University
Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Rider University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey list. Rider University is located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 ’s theater degrees to qualified students.

Rider did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in New Jersey” list. It costs about $27,882 for New Jersey Theater students per year to attend Rider University.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Rider University

10

Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Campus did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Theater Schools in New Jersey ranking, coming in at #10. FDU is a small school located in Madison, New Jersey that handed out 19 ’s theater degrees in 2020-2021.

FDU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in New Jersey” list. The yearly cost to attend FDU is $21,754 for new jersey theater students.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at FDU

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

Credits

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options