2021 Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges for Non-Traditional Students
152Colleges
12,746Bachelor's Degrees
$32,273Avg Cost*
Finding the Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools for Non-Traditional Students
Drama & Theater Arts is the #38th most popular major in the country with 12,746 bachelor's degrees awarded in <nil>.
For this year's Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges for Non-Traditional Students ranking, we looked at 152 colleges that offer a bachelor's in theater. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great drama & theater arts programs and a strong support system for non-traditional students.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the drama & theater arts program at the school, affordability, and non-traditional population. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
As a non-traditional student, you have a lot to consider when it comes to choosing an education. That's why we've developed rankings specifically for you. Check out more major-related rankings here..
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.
2021 Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools for Non-Traditional Students in the United States
Check out the theater programs at these schools if you want to see which ones are the best for non-traditional students.
Top 15% Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools for Non-Traditional Students
Florida State University tops the 2021 list of our schools in the United States that are best for non-traditional drama & theater arts students. Florida State is a very large public school located in the city of Tallahassee. Florida State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list.
About 1.0% of Florida State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 20,172 students take at least one class online at Florida State. There are roughly 8,311 part time students in attendance at Florida State.
Loyola Marymount University comes in at #2 in this year's ranking. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, Loyola Marymount has also earned the #3 rank in our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts ranking.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.9%. Approximately 4,981 students take at least one class online at Loyola Marymount. About 764 of the students at Loyola Marymount are attending part time.
The #3 spot in this year's ranking belongs to University of Nevada - Las Vegas. Located in the midsize city of Las Vegas, UNLV is a public college with a very large student population. UNLV also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list. It's in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
About 1.5% of UNLV students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 15,438 students at UNLV that take at least one class online. 8,226 of UNLV students are attending part time.
University of Wisconsin - Madison comes in at #4 in this year's ranking. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a very large student population. UW - Madison did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list.
The student loan default rate at UW - Madison is lower than is typical, just 0.2% of students default in three years. There are approximately 11,375 students at UW - Madison that take at least one class online. 4,683 students are part time.
California State University - Fullerton earned the #5 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population. Cal State Fullerton also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list. It's in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.8%. Approximately 25,781 students take at least one class online at Cal State Fullerton. About 10,634 of the students at Cal State Fullerton are attending part time.
The #6 spot in this year's ranking belongs to University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. UMN Twin Cities is a very large public school located in the city of Minneapolis. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, UMN Twin Cities is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.6%. Approximately 21,237 students take at least one class online at UMN Twin Cities. There are roughly 13,655 part time students in attendance at UMN Twin Cities.
The #7 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus. Penn State University Park is a very large public school located in the small city of University Park. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, Penn State University Park has also earned the #7 rank in our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts ranking.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.0%. All students are part time.
San Francisco State University landed the #8 spot in our 2021 best drama & theater arts schools for non-traditional students. SFSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Francisco.
The student loan default rate at SFSU is lower than is typical, just 1.8% of students default in three years. 14,003 students at SFSU are exclusively online. 6,034 students are part time.
University of Florida earned the #9 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the city of Gainesville, UF is a public school with a very large student population. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, UF has also earned the #8 rank in our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts ranking.
About 0.9% of UF students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 22,865 students take at least one class online at UF. 11,205 students are part time.
Indiana University - Bloomington comes in at #10 in this year's ranking. IU Bloomington is a fairly large public school located in the city of Bloomington. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, IU Bloomington also did well on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list. It's in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.4%. There are approximately 18,013 students at IU Bloomington that take at least one class online. There are roughly 5,256 part time students in attendance at IU Bloomington.
University of California - Los Angeles comes in at #11 in this year's ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population. UCLA also made our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list, coming in at #6.
About 0.7% of UCLA students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 25,859 students at UCLA that take at least one class online. About 2,161 of the students at UCLA are attending part time.
The #12 spot in this year's ranking belongs to New York University. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population. NYU also took the #9 spot in our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts rankings.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.8%. Approximately 21,614 students take at least one class online at NYU. About 8,829 of the students at NYU are attending part time.
University of Nebraska - Lincoln earned the #13 spot in our 2021 rankings. UNL is a fairly large public school located in the city of Lincoln. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, UNL also did well on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list. It's in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.5%. Approximately 13,905 students take at least one class online at UNL. There are roughly 3,376 part time students in attendance at UNL.
Illinois State University earned the #14 spot in our 2021 rankings. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the suburb of Normal. Illinois State also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list. It's in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
About 1.7% of Illinois State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 7,464 students at Illinois State that take at least one class online. There are roughly 2,500 part time students in attendance at Illinois State.
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus comes in at #15 in this year's ranking. UC is a very large public school located in the large city of Cincinnati. UC excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list.
The student loan default rate at UC is lower than is typical, just 1.7% of students default in three years. There are approximately 17,465 students at UC that take at least one class online. About 10,255 of the students at UC are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize Ohio State University - Main Campus as the #16 school in this year's rankings. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public college with a fairly large student population. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, Ohio State also did well on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list. It's in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
About 1.2% of Ohio State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 42,293 students take at least one class online at Ohio State. 8,459 of Ohio State students are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as the #17 school in this year's rankings. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population. UIUC also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list. It's in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.6%. There are approximately 35,475 students at UIUC that take at least one class online. 10,007 of UIUC students are attending part time.
University of Iowa earned the #18 spot in our 2021 rankings. Iowa is a very large public school located in the city of Iowa City. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, Iowa also did well on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list. It's in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The student loan default rate at Iowa is lower than is typical, just 1.2% of students default in three years. There are approximately 12,975 students at Iowa that take at least one class online. 5,055 of Iowa students are attending part time.
The #19 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Virginia Commonwealth University. VCU is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Richmond. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, VCU also is in the top 15% of our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts ranking.
About 0.9% of VCU students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 19,039 students at VCU that take at least one class online. There are roughly 5,055 part time students in attendance at VCU.
University of Arizona landed the #20 spot in our 2021 best drama & theater arts schools for non-traditional students. University of Arizona is a fairly large public school located in the city of Tucson. University of Arizona also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list. It's in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
The student loan default rate at University of Arizona is lower than is typical, just 1.6% of students default in three years. There are approximately 18,254 students at University of Arizona that take at least one class online. There are roughly 12,642 part time students in attendance at University of Arizona.
University of New Orleans earned the #21 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large city of New Orleans, UNO is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
About 2.8% of UNO students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 4,674 students at UNO that take at least one class online. About 2,665 of the students at UNO are attending part time.
San Diego State University earned the #22 spot in our 2021 rankings. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego. SDSU excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.1%. Approximately 21,657 students take at least one class online at SDSU. There are roughly 5,452 part time students in attendance at SDSU.
Rest of the Top Schools for Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges for Non-Traditional Students
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges for Non-Traditional Students award.
Non-Traditional Student Rankings in Majors Related to Theater
One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Drama & Theater Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
Notes and References
Footnotes
*Avg Cost is for the top 25 schools only.
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 the rest 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).
Drama & Theater Arts is the #38th most popular major in the country with 12,746 bachelor's degrees awarded in <nil>.
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