2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 for a Master’s in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.
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 California, there were 3,227 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $20,531 and $31,651 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 363 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking, we looked at 19 colleges that offer a degree in drama and theater arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great drama and theater arts 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 drama and theater arts program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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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 Master’s in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California.
Top 19 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts in California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California. University of California - San Diego is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 26 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
UCSD also took the #4 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - San Diego are $28,631, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California list. UC Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 20 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Irvine, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Out of the 19 schools in the Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #3 spot on the list. UCLA is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 11 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at University of California - Los Angeles
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California list. Located in Northridge, California, this large public school awarded 8 diplomas to qualified masters’s theater students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSUN, the school also landed the #15 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at CSUN are $17,955, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Out of the 19 schools in the Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 13 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
SDSU also made our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at SDSU are $18,658.
California State University - Long Beach ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California list. Long Beach, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s theater degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSULB, the school also landed the #14 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at CSULB are $17,784, but some majors have different tuition rates.
University of California - Davis came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. UC Davis is a large school located in Davis, California that handed out 6 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Davis are $28,700, but some majors have different tuition rates.
California State University - Fullerton landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. Fullerton, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s theater degrees to 15 students in 2019-2020.
Cal State Fullerton also made our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #12. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Fullerton are $17,892.
Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at California State University - Fullerton
Loyola Marymount University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 14 degrees to qualified masters’s theater students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california master’s degree theater students list, Loyola Marymount has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola Marymount University are $19,756.
Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Loyola Marymount University
San Francisco State University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. This large school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 5 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at SFSU, the school also landed the #17 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at San Francisco State University are $17,944.
Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at San Francisco State University
Azusa Pacific University landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Azusa, California, and it awarded 2 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
Azusa Pacific also made our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #16. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Azusa Pacific are $16,571.
Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Azusa Pacific University
University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #12. UC Santa Cruz is located in Santa Cruz, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 masters’s theater degrees to qualified students.
UC Santa Cruz also made our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #13. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Santa Cruz are $28,952, but some majors have different tuition rates.
National University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 6 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california master’s degree theater students list, National University has also earned the #19 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at National University are $15,480.
Academy of Art University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. San Francisco, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out masters’s theater degrees to 42 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california master’s degree theater students list, Academy of Art University has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Academy of Art University are $27,688.
Chapman University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. Chapman University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Orange, California. It awarded 18 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Chapman, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Chapman University are $35,105, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Pepperdine University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California list. This medium-sized school is located in Malibu, California, and it awarded 2 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
Pepperdine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts 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 Pepperdine are $36,320.
New York Film Academy did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #17. New York Film Academy is located in Burbank, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 58 masters’s theater degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at New York Film Academy, the school also landed the #18 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at New York Film Academy are $35,457, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at New York Film Academy
University of Southern California landed the #18 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. USC is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 41 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts 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 University of Southern California are $48,715.
California Institute of the Arts came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. CalArts is located in Valencia, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 30 masters’s theater degrees to qualified students.
CalArts not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of the Arts are $53,466, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
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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.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Donald Judge.
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