College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Theater Arts Schools in California

29 Colleges in California
1,941 Theater Degrees Awarded
If you pursue a degree in theater arts, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #70 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 29 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of theater arts. Combined, these schools handed out 1,941 degrees in theater arts to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Theater Arts School

Best Theater Arts Schools in California The theater program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Theater Arts rankings. We derive our Best Overall Theater Arts School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Theater Arts Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Theater
Bachelor's Degrees in Theater
Master's Degrees in Theater
Doctor's Degrees in Theater

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Theater Arts Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Theater Arts in California

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the theater degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top California Schools in Theater

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In CA
48 Theater Degrees Awarded

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in theater arts. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 48 theater arts students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in theater arts from University of Southern California

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In CA
41 Theater Degrees Awarded

University of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in theater arts. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were about 41 theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in theater arts from University of California - Berkeley

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
19th Most Popular In CA

Any student who is interested in theater arts needs to check out Chapman University. Chapman is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Orange. This university ranks 32nd out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 26 theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in theater arts from Chapman University

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In CA
40 Theater Degrees Awarded

Loyola Marymount University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in theater arts. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Loyola Marymount is a great university overall.

There were approximately 40 theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Marymount in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in theater arts from Loyola Marymount University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In CA
87 Theater Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were about 87 theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in theater arts from University of California - Los Angeles

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
117 Theater Degrees Awarded

UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were roughly 117 theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in theater arts from University of California - Irvine

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In CA
43 Theater Degrees Awarded

UCSD is a very large public university located in the city of La Jolla. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were roughly 43 theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in theater arts from University of California - San Diego

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
21st Most Popular In CA

Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were roughly 24 theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in theater arts from University of California - Davis

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In CA
36 Theater Degrees Awarded

Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were approximately 36 theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in theater arts from University of California - Santa Barbara

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In CA
113 Theater Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 41st out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 113 theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Cal State Fullerton in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in theater arts from California State University - Fullerton

Best Theater Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Theater Arts Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 164
Oregon 587 169
Nevada 354 41
Hawaii 267 20
Alaska 167 4

View All Rankings >

One of 11 majors within the Drama & Theater Arts area of study, Theater Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Theater

Related Major Annual Graduates
Acting 512
Playwriting & Screenwriting 290
Theater Design & Technology 187
Musical Theater 44
Costume Design 31
Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft 22
Directing & Theatrical Production 12
Comedy Writing and Performance 1

View All Theater Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options