2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Acting in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Acting Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Acting is the 319th most popular major in the country with 1,944 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 570 acting graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 97 acting graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Acting Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree in acting. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great acting programs and 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 acting program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Acting Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Acting Schools for a Master’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Acting Schools for a Master’s in California.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Acting in California

#1

University of California - San Diego

La Jolla, California

#3 in overall quality

$28,631 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Acting Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #1 spot on the list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s acting degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

UCSD not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Acting Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UCSD are $28,631.

Read full report on Acting at University of California - San Diego

#2

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, California

#4 in overall quality

$27,688 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Academy of Art University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Acting Schools for a Master’s in California. Academy of Art University is located in San Francisco, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 masters’s acting degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree acting students list, Academy of Art University has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Acting Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Academy of Art University are $27,688, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Acting at Academy of Art University

#3

New York Film Academy

Burbank, California

#5 in overall quality

$35,457 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Acting Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, New York Film Academy landed the #3 spot on the list. New York Film Academy is a small private for-profit school situated in Burbank, California. It awarded 36 masters’s acting degrees in 2019-2020.

New York Film Academy also made our “Best Acting Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at New York Film Academy are $35,457, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Acting at New York Film Academy

#4

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$48,715 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Acting Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #4 spot on the list. USC is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 9 masters’s acting degrees in 2019-2020.

USC also made our “Best Acting Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at USC are $48,715, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full USC Acting Report

#5

California Institute of the Arts

Valencia, California

#2 in overall quality

$53,466 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of the Arts. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Acting Schools for a Master’s in California. CalArts is a small school located in Valencia, California that handed out 13 masters’s acting degrees in 2019-2020.

CalArts did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Acting Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at CalArts are $53,466, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Acting at CalArts

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Acting in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Acting

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Donald Judge.

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