2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts in District of Columbia

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 18,124 people earned their degree in drama and theater arts, making the major the 59th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, drama and theater arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $21,403 and had an average of $26,932 in loans still to pay off.

Across District of Columbia, there were 91 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $23,100 and $20,000 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 47 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $44,446 and $25,767 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in drama and theater arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality drama and theater arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the drama and theater arts program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia

The colleges and universities below are the best for district of columbia bachelor’s degree theater students.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts in District of Columbia

#1

Catholic University of America

Washington, District of Columbia

#3 in overall quality

$34,230 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia that were part of this year’s ranking, Catholic University of America landed the #1 spot on the list. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s theater degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our district of columbia bachelor’s degree theater students list, CUA has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Catholic University of America is $34,230 for district of columbia bachelor’s degree theater students.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.8% 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%.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at CUA

#2

American University

Washington, District of Columbia

#1 in overall quality

$43,451 Average Net Price

$20,140 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend American University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia. American University is a fairly large school located in Washington, District of Columbia that handed out 25 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

The American University also took the #1 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” ranking. It costs about $43,451 for District of Columbia Bachelor’s Degree Theater students per year to attend American University.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full American University Drama & Theater Arts Report

#3

George Washington University

Washington, District of Columbia

#2 in overall quality

$33,719 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Washington University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia. GWU is a large school located in Washington, District of Columbia that handed out 8 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

GWU also took the #2 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend George Washington University is $33,719 for district of columbia bachelor’s degree theater students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at GWU

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts

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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