2025 Best Acting Associate Degree Schools in California

If you plan on getting your associate degree in acting, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #198 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Acting Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 139 associate degrees in acting during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to acting students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of acting students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized acting related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for acting students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Acting Associate Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Acting in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in acting.

Top California Schools for an Associate in Acting

1

American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

110 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in acting has to take a look at American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles. American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a associate in acting from American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles

2

New York Film Academy
Burbank, CA

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

20 Annual Graduates

New York Film Academy is a great decision for individuals pursuing an associate degree in acting. New York Film Academy is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Burbank.More information about a associate in acting from New York Film Academy

Best Acting Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Acting Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded

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Rankings in Majors Related to Acting

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

Majors Similar to Acting

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Theater Arts	545
Theater Design & Technology	24
Playwriting & Screenwriting	1
Costume Design	1

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Donald Judge. More about our data sources and methodologies.