2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Musical Theater (Income $0-$30k) in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Musical Theatre Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Musical Theater is the 489th most popular major in the country with 935 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 49 musical theater graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 20 musical theater graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Musical Theatre Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in musical theater. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality musical theater programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the musical theater program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Musical Theatre Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Musical Theatre Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Musical Theatre Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Musical Theater (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

University of California - Irvine

Irvine, California

#1 in overall quality

$9,558 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Musical Theatre Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s musical theatre degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree musical theatre students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Irvine has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Musical Theater Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Irvine is $9,558 for California Bachelor’s Degree Musical Theatre students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about Musical Theater at University of California - Irvine

#2

California State University - Chico

Chico, California

#2 in overall quality

$10,260 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Chico. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Musical Theatre Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Chico State is a public institution located in Chico, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Chico State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Musical Theater Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Chico State is $10,260 for california bachelor’s degree musical theatre students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%.

Full California State University - Chico Musical Theater Report

#3

Vanguard University of Southern California

Costa Mesa, California

#3 in overall quality

$15,222 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Vanguard University of Southern California. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Musical Theatre Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Vanguard is a small school located in Costa Mesa, California that handed out 4 bachelors’s musical theatre degrees in 2019-2020.

Vanguard also took the #3 spot in our “Best Musical Theater Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $15,222 for california bachelor’s degree musical theatre students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Vanguard University of Southern California.

The low student loan default rate of 4.0% 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 Musical Theater at Vanguard University of Southern California

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Musical Theater (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Musical Theater (Income $0-$30k)

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

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Donald Judge.

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