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2022 Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Acting

94 Colleges in the United States
1,128 Bachelor's Degrees
If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in acting, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #223 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2022 ranking, College Factual looked at 94 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the most popular for acting students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 1,128 bachelor's degrees in acting to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Other Rankings

Choosing a Great Acting School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Acting Your choice of school for getting your bachelor's degree in acting matters. One of the reasons we created our Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Acting ranking is to help you make that choice.

Being popular does not always equate to overall quality, but a school with a large number of acting students usually has them for a reason. This may be due to it being a great value, it offering a stellar educational experience, or the subject is a major focus of the school.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Associate Degrees in Acting
Master's Degrees in Acting
Overall Popularity in Acting

We have also developed a number of other rankings to help guide you in your decision-making process. To begin with, if this is not the degree level you are most interested in, you may want to check out one of the others noted above. If you would prefer to limit your search to a specific state or region of the county, see our rankings by location. On top of that, you can visit our other rankings for acting.

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.

Learn about the most popular colleges and universities for acting students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

15 Most Well Attended Schools for Acting Students Working on Their Bachelor's

1
98 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In CA
#6 Best Quality In CA

New York Film Academy is one of the most popular schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in acting. New York Film Academy is a small private for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Burbank. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #6 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in California.

There were about 98 acting students who graduated with this degree at New York Film Academy in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from New York Film Academy

2
76 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In NY
#8 Best Quality In NY

Marymount Manhattan College is one of the most popular schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in acting. MMC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large city of New York. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #8 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in New York.

There were roughly 76 acting students who graduated with this degree at MMC in the most recent data year.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from Marymount Manhattan College

3
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
66 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In PA
#2 Best Quality In PA

You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at Temple University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in acting. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public university with a fairly large student population. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #2 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in Pennsylvania.

There were about 66 acting individuals who graduated with this degree at Temple in the most recent data year.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from Temple University

4
63 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#2 Most Popular In CA
#1 Best Quality In CA

You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at University of Southern California if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in acting. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in California.

There were approximately 63 acting students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from University of Southern California

5
60 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In IL
#4 Best Quality In IL

Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #4 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in Illinois.

There were approximately 60 acting individuals who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from Columbia College Chicago

6
51 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#2 Most Popular In NY
#6 Best Quality In NY

Located in the city of New York, Pace University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #6 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in New York.

There were about 51 acting students who graduated with this degree at Pace University in the most recent data year.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from Pace University - New York

7
OCU crest
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City, OK
34 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In OK
#1 Best Quality In OK

OCU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Oklahoma City. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #1 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in Oklahoma.

There were approximately 34 acting students who graduated with this degree at OCU in the most recent data year.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from Oklahoma City University

8
29 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#3 Most Popular In CA
#4 Best Quality In CA

Located in the large suburb of Valencia, CalArts is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #4 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in California.

There were roughly 29 acting students who graduated with this degree at CalArts in the most recent data year.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from California Institute of the Arts

9
Academy of Art University crest
Academy of Art University
San Francisco, CA
27 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#4 Most Popular In CA
#5 Best Quality In CA

Located in the large city of San Francisco, Academy of Art University is a private for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #5 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in California.

There were roughly 27 acting individuals who graduated with this degree at Academy of Art University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from Academy of Art University

10
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
25 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#3 Most Popular In NY
#2 Best Quality In NY

Syracuse is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #2 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in New York.

There were roughly 25 acting individuals who graduated with this degree at Syracuse in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from Syracuse University

11
24 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In OH
#3 Best Quality In OH

Baldwin Wallace College is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Berea. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #3 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in Ohio.

There were approximately 24 acting individuals who graduated with this degree at Baldwin Wallace College in the most recent data year.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from Baldwin Wallace University

12
20 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In TX
#3 Best Quality In TX

Located in the city of Waco, Baylor is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #3 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in Texas.

There were approximately 20 acting students who graduated with this degree at Baylor in the most recent data year.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from Baylor University

12
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
20 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In MA
#1 Best Quality In MA

Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #1 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in Massachusetts.

There were approximately 20 acting individuals who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent data year.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from Boston University

14
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
19 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#2 Most Popular In IL
#3 Best Quality In IL

Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #3 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in Illinois.

There were about 19 acting students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from DePaul University

14
Towson crest
Towson University
Towson, MD
19 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In MD
#1 Best Quality In MD

Located in the small city of Towson, Towson is a public university with a very large student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for bachelor's degrees in acting in Maryland.

There were about 19 acting students who graduated with this degree at Towson in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a bachelor’s in acting from Towson University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Acting students that almost earned our Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Acting award.

Rank College Location
16 The University of the Arts Philadelphia, PA
17 Wright State University - Main Campus Dayton, OH
17 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
17 University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA
17 Roosevelt University Chicago, IL
17 Purchase College Purchase, NY
22 Saint Edward’s University Austin, TX
22 Chapman University Orange, CA
22 Shenandoah University Winchester, VA

Acting by Region

View the Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Acting for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

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Acting is one of 9 different types of Drama & Theater Arts programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Theater Arts 9,538
Musical Theater 851
Theater Design & Technology 632
Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft 584
Playwriting & Screenwriting 342
Directing & Theatrical Production 138
Theatre Literature, History & Criticism 44
Costume Design 28
Theatre and Dance 22

Notes and References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
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