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2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee

14 Ranked Colleges
146 Degrees Awarded
$19,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor's in Tennessee

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Tennessee” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Drama & Theater Arts is the 59th most popular major in the country with 18,124 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Tennessee, there were 203 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $16,750 and $22,225 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 146 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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 Tennessee” 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 Tennessee

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

Top 14 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts in Tennessee

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee. Chattanooga, Tennessee is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s theater degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Chattanooga, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga is $12,952 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

#2

Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Middle Tennessee State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. Middle Tennessee State University is a large school located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee that handed out 22 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

Middle Tennessee State University also took the #8 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Middle Tennessee State University is $12,464 for tennessee bachelor’s degree theater students.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Middle Tennessee State University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Tennessee - Knoxville. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee. Knoxville, Tennessee is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s theater degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

UT Knoxville not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for UT Knoxville is $18,825 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at UT Knoxville

#4

East Tennessee State University

Johnson City, Tennessee
#12 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend East Tennessee State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee. This fairly large school is located in Johnson City, Tennessee, and it awarded 12 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

ETSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for ETSU is $14,332 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.

Full ETSU Drama & Theater Arts Report

#5

Austin Peay State University

Clarksville, Tennessee
#11 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Austin Peay State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee. Austin Peay State University is a public institution located in Clarksville, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee bachelor’s degree theater students list, Austin Peay State University has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $13,692 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Theater students per year to attend Austin Peay State University.

Full Austin Peay State University Drama & Theater Arts Report

#6

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

With a ranking of #6, University of Memphis did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. UofM is located in Memphis, Tennessee and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 18 bachelors’s theater degrees to qualified students.

UofM not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for UofM is $13,248 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at UofM

#7

Lee University

Cleveland, Tennessee
#7 in overall quality

Lee University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking. Cleveland, Tennessee is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s theater degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

Lee University also made our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #7. The yearly cost to attend Lee University is $17,696 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Lee University

#8

Freed-Hardeman University

Henderson, Tennessee
#9 in overall quality

Freed-Hardeman University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #8. Freed-Hardeman University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Henderson, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee bachelor’s degree theater students list, FHU has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Freed-Hardeman University is $16,703 for tennessee bachelor’s degree theater students.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at FHU

#9

Trevecca Nazarene University

Nashville, Tennessee
#6 in overall quality

Trevecca Nazarene University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. Trevecca Nazarene University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at TNU, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Trevecca Nazarene University is $17,499 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.

Full TNU Drama & Theater Arts Report

#10

Belmont University

Nashville, Tennessee

With a ranking of #10, Belmont University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. Belmont University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Belmont, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Belmont University is $35,548 for tennessee bachelor’s degree theater students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Belmont University

#11

Lipscomb University

Nashville, Tennessee

Lipscomb University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #11. This small school is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee bachelor’s degree theater students list, Lipscomb has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $24,749 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Theater students per year to attend Lipscomb University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, 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 86%.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Lipscomb

#12

Visible Music College

Memphis, Tennessee
#14 in overall quality

Visible Music College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking. Located in Memphis, Tennessee, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.

Visible Music College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend Visible Music College is $22,807 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Full Visible Music College Drama & Theater Arts Report

#13

Rhodes College

Memphis, Tennessee
#2 in overall quality

Rhodes College landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking. Rhodes College is a small school located in Memphis, Tennessee that handed out 2 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee bachelor’s degree theater students list, Rhodes College has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $27,540 for tennessee bachelor’s degree theater students per year to attend Rhodes College.

The low student loan default rate of 2.0% 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. The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Rhodes College

#14

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee
#1 in overall quality

Vanderbilt University landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking. This fairly large school is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

Vanderbilt also took the #1 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Vanderbilt is $19,432 for tennessee bachelor’s degree theater students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Vanderbilt

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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.

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