HollywoodAMDA College of the Performing Arts, Los Angeles
WASC-accredited performing arts college at Hollywood's Yucca and Vine, offering BFA and AOS acting degrees with audition-based admission, published tuition of $49,500 per year, and scholarships reaching 95 percent of students.
ValenciaCalArts School of Theater
The Disney-founded arts institute's theater school in Valencia: BFA and MFA Acting with mandatory live auditions for most US applicants, experimental ensemble culture, and published institute tuition.
CSULB campus, Los Altos-adjacent East Long BeachCalifornia State University, Long Beach, Department of Theatre Arts
Cal State Long Beach's Theatre Arts BA with an audition-gated Performance: Acting option and the California Repertory Company as its producing arm, at CSU-resident tuition.
University HillsCalifornia State University, Los Angeles, Department of Theatre and Dance
Cal State LA's Theatre and Dance department: a no-audition Theatre BA with performance and design tracks, six to eight productions a year at the State Playhouse, and CSU-resident tuition on the Eastside.
NorthridgeCalifornia State University, Northridge Department of Theatre
Cal State Northridge's 250-major theatre department: a no-audition Theatre BA with an acting and directing option, eight productions a year, a teen summer drama workshop, and CSU-resident tuition.
Norwalk, southeast Los Angeles CountyCerritos College Theatre, Film and Television Department
Cerritos College's theatre and film department in Norwalk: an acting-emphasis AA gated by a jury, graduated performance credit up to lead roles, four productions a season, at $46 per unit.
East Los AngelesEast Los Angeles College Theater Arts Department
ELAC's award-collecting theater department in Monterey Park: a stackable certificate in acting for stage and screen, internships with major LA theatres, Shakespeare on the fall bill, at $46 per unit.
South BayEl Camino College Theatre Department
El Camino College's South Bay theatre program: AA and transfer degrees, five to six productions a year including a musical with live orchestra, and master classes with visiting artists, at $46 per unit.
Verdugo foothills, northeast GlendaleGlendale Community College Theatre Arts Department
GCC's theatre program in the Verdugo foothills: acting-emphasis AA with voice, movement, and camera coursework, a produced season with Shakespeare in fall 2026, at $46 per unit.
Lakewood Village area, Liberal Arts CampusLong Beach City College Theatre Arts (Performing Arts Department)
LBCC's theatre program with a dedicated Acting Academy AA track, media certificates in commercials, film acting, and voice-over, and a brand-new $75 million performing arts center, at $46 per unit.
Valley GlenLos Angeles Valley College Department of Theatre & Dance
Valley Glen community college theatre program with AA degrees in acting, directing, and technical theatre, an acting certificate, and a new performing arts center, at California's $46-per-unit community college rate.
WestchesterLoyola Marymount University Department of Theatre Arts
Loyola Marymount's NAST-accredited Theatre Arts BA in Westchester: an impacted program with video auditions for performance applicants, Pulitzer- and Emmy-credited faculty, and published private tuition.
Burbank Media DistrictNew York Film Academy, Los Angeles
The Burbank campus of the film school founded in 1992, offering Acting for Film degrees from a one-year conservatory program to an MFA, WSCUC-accredited, with backlot production work at Universal Studios.
East Pasadena, on Colorado Blvd east of the Playhouse DistrictPasadena City College Theater Arts
PCC's pre-professional theatre program: an AA-T in theatre arts and technical theatre credentials, five student-cast productions a year including a musical, in a professional campus venue at $46 per unit.
MalibuPepperdine University Theatre Program (Seaver College Fine Arts Division)
Pepperdine's Malibu theatre program: a BA with acting and musical theatre emphases plus a theatre-and-screen-arts hybrid, small classes, optional live auditions with automatic scholarship consideration, and published tuition.
Sunset ParkSanta Monica College Theatre Arts Department
SMC's seventy-year theatre department: AA and transfer degrees, a technical theatre AS, real productions in two campus theaters, and a transfer record reaching Juilliard and NYU, at $46 per unit for residents.
WestwoodUCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
UCLA's Westwood theater school: an audition-supplemented Theater BA, MFAs including Acting (currently closed to new applicants), summer institutes open to non-degree students, and California-resident public tuition.
University ParkUSC School of Dramatic Arts
USC's drama school, founded 1945: BA and BFA programs including Acting for Stage and Screen, a three-year MFA, filmed pre-screen auditions, a high school summer conservatory, and published university tuition.