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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region

68 Ranked Colleges
2,081 Degrees Awarded
$8,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor's in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k

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 Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Drama & Theater Arts is the 59th most popular major in the country with 18,124 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, drama and theater arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $21,403 and had an average of $26,932 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 3,777 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $21,010 and $29,820 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 2,081 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 68 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in drama and theater arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great drama and theater arts programs and cost less that 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 drama and theater arts program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s theater degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

Stanford also made our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Stanford is $1,145 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Stanford

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. UW Seattle is a public institution located in Seattle, Washington. The school has a large population, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW Seattle, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UW Seattle is $7,467 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UW Seattle Drama & Theater Arts Report

Out of the 68 schools in the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Los Angeles landed the #3 spot on the list. Cal State LA is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 28 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $2,117 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California State University - Los Angeles.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal State LA Drama & Theater Arts Report

#4

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 62 bachelors’s theater degrees to qualified students.

UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Los Angeles is $9,254 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at UCLA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fullerton. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Fullerton, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s theater degrees to 107 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal State Fullerton, the school also landed the #18 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fullerton is $6,100 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal State Fullerton Drama & Theater Arts Report

With a ranking of #6, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school handed out 85 degrees to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k list, UC Irvine has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Irvine is $10,373 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. 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%.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at University of California - Irvine

University of California - Berkeley did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #7. UC Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 44 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k list, UC Berkeley has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $9,130 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of California - Berkeley.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at University of California - Berkeley

With a ranking of #8, California State University - Fresno did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Fresno State is a public institution located in Fresno, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fresno is $3,731 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Fresno State Drama & Theater Arts Report

California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Carson, California, and it awarded 25 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Dominguez Hills is $3,115 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%.

Full CSUDH Drama & Theater Arts Report

With a ranking of #10, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. CSULB is a large school located in Long Beach, California that handed out 78 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

CSULB also took the #22 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $7,595 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend CSULB.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Full CSULB Drama & Theater Arts Report

California State University - Northridge did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #11. Located in Northridge, California, this large public school awarded 53 degrees to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend CSUN is $6,883 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at California State University - Northridge

#4 in overall quality

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in San Luis Obispo, California, this large public school handed out 13 degrees to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also took the #4 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $14,680 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Full California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Drama & Theater Arts Report

With a ranking of #13, University of Nevada - Las Vegas did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. UNLV is a large school located in Las Vegas, Nevada that handed out 40 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

UNLV not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #16 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Nevada - Las Vegas is $9,880 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full University of Nevada - Las Vegas Drama & Theater Arts Report

University of California - San Diego ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 47 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSD also made our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #12. The yearly cost to attend UCSD is $9,974 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at University of California - San Diego

#15

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

With a ranking of #15, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Santa Barbara, California, this large public school awarded 41 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.

UCSB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Santa Barbara is $11,895 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of California - Santa Barbara Drama & Theater Arts Report

#16

Western Washington University

Bellingham, Washington

Western Washington University landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. WWU is a fairly large public school situated in Bellingham, Washington. It awarded 54 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

WWU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #15 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend WWU is $11,228 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Western Washington University

University of California - Davis landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 28 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis also took the #14 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Davis is $10,769 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at UC Davis

#18

California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino, California

California State University - San Bernardino did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #18. San Bernardino, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s theater degrees to 26 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $5,869 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Theater students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California State University - San Bernardino.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full California State University - San Bernardino Drama & Theater Arts Report

#19

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

San Diego State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #19. SDSU is a large public school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 37 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $10,594 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend SDSU.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full San Diego State University Drama & Theater Arts Report

California State University - Stanislaus landed the #20 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Turlock, California, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $3,958 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California State University - Stanislaus.

The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Stan State Drama & Theater Arts Report

#21

Southern Oregon University

Ashland, Oregon

Southern Oregon University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Ashland, Oregon, this medium-sized public school handed out 61 degrees to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $9,270 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Southern Oregon University.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Southern Oregon University

California State University - Sacramento came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Sacramento, California, this large public school handed out 28 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Sac State is $7,823 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at California State University - Sacramento

#23

Occidental College

Los Angeles, California

With a ranking of #23, Occidental College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. This small school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

Oxy also took the #11 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $17,662 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Theater students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Oxy.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Occidental College

#24

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s theater degrees to 145 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k list, USC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Southern California is $16,252 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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 student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at University of Southern California

#25

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

University of California - Santa Cruz ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of California - Santa Cruz is a public institution located in Santa Cruz, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 36 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #24 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UC Santa Cruz is $11,793 for far western us region bachelor’s degree theater students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at University of California - Santa Cruz

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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.

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