Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Theater Design & Technology

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Theater Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

4 Ranked Colleges
29 Degrees Awarded
$34,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Theater Design Schools for a Bachelor's in California

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 1,261 people earned their degree in theater design and technology, making the major the 450th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 261 theater design and technology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 29 theater design and technology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Theater Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in theater design and technology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent theater design and technology programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Theater Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. 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.

Best Value Theater Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Theater Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Theater Design & Technology in California

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Theater Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Vanguard University of Southern California landed the #1 spot on the list. Vanguard is a private not-for-profit institution located in Costa Mesa, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Vanguard not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Theater Design & Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $20,051 for california bachelor’s degree theater design students per year to attend Vanguard.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Theater Design & Technology at Vanguard

#2

California Institute of the Arts

Valencia, California
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Theater Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of the Arts landed the #2 spot on the list. CalArts is a private not-for-profit institution located in Valencia, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 18 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

CalArts also made our “Best Theater Design & Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for California Institute of the Arts is $50,412 for california bachelor’s degree theater design students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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 impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full California Institute of the Arts Theater Design & Technology Report

#3

Pepperdine University

Malibu, California
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Theater Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Pepperdine University landed the #3 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Malibu, California, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s theater design degrees in 2019-2020.

Pepperdine also made our “Best Theater Design & Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Pepperdine is $36,996 for California Bachelor’s Degree Theater Design students.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 full report on Theater Design & Technology at Pepperdine

#4

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Theater Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s theater design degrees in 2019-2020.

USC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Theater Design & Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Southern California is $29,528 for California Bachelor’s Degree Theater Design students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Theater Design & Technology at University of Southern California

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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

Featured Theater Schools

Find Schools Near You