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Every student building a college list on stageready is telling us something useful: these are the acting programs they actually want to audition for. This list ranks the 20 schools whose acting programs sit on the most stageready users' college lists as of June 2026.
It is not a critics' ranking or a prestige score. It is a snapshot of where applicants are putting their attention right now, which makes it a useful gut check when you decide where to spend your audition fees and travel weekends. You will find elite conservatories next to large research universities and affordable state schools, and a few programs that fly under the radar of the usual lists.
The 20 Most-Saved Acting Programs
New York University
The most-saved acting program on stageready trains undergraduates through the studio system at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, placing each student in a professional studio such as the Atlantic Acting School, the Stella Adler Studio, the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, or the Experimental Theatre Wing. The drama BFA combines that conservatory studio work with a liberal arts core, and admission runs through a video prescreen layered on an NYU acceptance rate near 9 percent. Based in Greenwich Village, it is one of the largest actor training programs in New York City.
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama, founded in 1914, was the first degree-granting drama program in the United States, and acting is offered as a track within its four-year conservatory BFA in Drama. The school is the first and exclusive higher education partner of the Tony Awards, and its acting graduates include Holly Hunter, Billy Porter, Zachary Quinto, and Leslie Odom Jr. Admission is highly competitive against a university acceptance rate near 12 percent, with a video prescreen before a live audition and a senior showcase staged for industry professionals in New York, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh.
Pace University
Pace University keeps acting students in Manhattan for conservatory-style training with working professionals at its Sands College of Performing Arts, and Backstage named it among the top acting colleges in the country in 2024. Classes are small, admission is highly selective with a video prescreen, and seniors spend a full semester in Los Angeles for industry experience. Recent graduates include Dominique Fishback and Emmy nominee Cooper Koch.
California State University - Fullerton
Acting at Cal State Fullerton is a concentration within the BFA in Theatre, and at an average net price near $6,555 it is the most affordable program on this list. The department stages eight mainstage productions a year, and BFA students are guaranteed to perform in at least two of them, with the Los Angeles industry about 26 miles away. Admission is highly selective and includes a video prescreen.
University of California - Los Angeles
UCLA trains actors through a Bachelor of Arts in Theater in its School of Theater, Film and Television, where acting is an area of emphasis built on a five-quarter core of acting, voice, and movement rather than a separate BFA. The Los Angeles campus sits at the center of the film and television industry, and graduates who studied theater there include George Takei, Carol Burnett, and Tim Robbins. UCLA is highly selective overall, with an acceptance rate near 9 percent, yet stays affordable at an average net price around $12,548, especially for California residents.
University of Michigan
Michigan's BFA in Theatre Performance sits inside the School of Music, Theatre and Dance and is ultra-selective, drawing its actors into four to five mainstage productions a year cast entirely from acting majors. The degree runs at least 122 credits, roughly two thirds in the conservatory and the rest in liberal arts, and a video prescreen comes before the audition. In-state students find the net price unusually low for a program of this caliber.
Ball State University
Ball State offers acting as a concentration within its BFA in Theatre, and the program draws a large applicant pool, with roughly 1,400 acting hopefuls auditioning each year. It is accredited by both the National Association of Schools of Theatre and the National Association of Schools of Dance, leans on immersive production experience as an undergraduate-only department, and lands among the more affordable options here at an average net price near $14,940.
Coastal Carolina University
Coastal Carolina offers acting as one of four concentrations within its BFA in Theatre Arts, alongside musical theatre, physical theatre, and design and production. The acting track is built on eight levels of study rooted in Stanislavski plus on-camera technique, classes stay small, and admission is selective with a video prescreen. Its average net price, near $13,966, is one of the lowest on this list.
Pennsylvania State University
Penn State's BFA in Acting is highly selective, training a small cohort in Meisner, Michael Chekhov, Lecoq, and Fitzmaurice voicework, with casting opportunities at Penn State Centre Stage each semester and a term abroad at Theatre Academy London. A video prescreen precedes the live audition. Graduates include Jonathan Frakes, and Keegan-Michael Key earned his MFA from the program.
Northwestern University
Northwestern delivers acting as one of four areas within its BA in Theatre, housed in the School of Communication, and admission comes through the university rather than a separate audition, with an acceptance rate near 8 percent. Up to 40 productions are staged each year across the Wirtz Center and a large student-run scene, and the acting curriculum offers an optional two-year cohort sequence beginning sophomore year. Its alumni in comedy and screen acting include Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephen Colbert, Zach Braff, and Megan Mullally.
Emerson College
Emerson's BFA in Theatre and Performance is its acting-focused conservatory track, set in the heart of Boston's Theatre District and kept distinct from the broader theatre degree that serves directors and playwrights. Ensemble work anchors the training, more than 40 percent of the degree sits in liberal arts, and admission is highly selective. Alumni include Jennifer Coolidge, Denis Leary, and Henry Winkler.
Ithaca College
Ithaca's BFA in Acting runs on ensemble-based, individualized training that layers Alexander Technique, mask work, and Rasaboxes onto core voice, movement, and scene study, with a study-abroad term at the Ithaca College London Center. Recent cohorts have been small, around 14 to 16 students, admission is highly selective with a video prescreen, and students audition for mainstage productions every semester. Graduates include actor CCH Pounder and Jharrel Jerome of Moonlight and When They See Us.
The Juilliard School
Juilliard's Drama Division, founded in 1968, trains an exceptionally small and selective acting cohort at Lincoln Center, where BFA and MFA students sit in the same classes and no one is cut once admitted. Four years of conservatory work cover voice, movement, Alexander Technique, and scene study. Its alumni include Viola Davis, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Jessica Chastain, and Patti LuPone.
Long Island University Post
Long Island University Post offers a BFA in Theatre Arts just outside New York City, drawing on Suzuki, Stanislavsky, Chekhov, and Linklater techniques across acting, voice, and movement. Mainstage productions are directed by professional New York directors, and the program closes with a senior showcase in the city for agents, managers, and directors. Admission is selective and does not require a prescreen.
University of Southern California
USC's BFA in Acting for Stage and Screen is an ultra-selective conservatory of roughly 18 students a year, set in the heart of Hollywood with direct access to the film and television industry. Training connects classical stage work with on-camera, voice-over, and digital media, mainstage opportunities begin sophomore year, and a video prescreen precedes the audition. Alumni of the drama school include Forest Whitaker, LeVar Burton, and Patrick J. Adams.
SUNY Purchase
SUNY Purchase runs a four-year conservatory BFA in Acting that is one of a small group of programs meeting the standards of the Consortium of Conservatory Theatre Training Programs, with 27 to 40 hours a week of direct faculty contact and no musical theatre track. The cohort trains as a single company, performs with the Purchase Repertory Theatre, and presents an industry showcase in New York and Los Angeles. Its alumni include Edie Falco, Stanley Tucci, Parker Posey, and Wesley Snipes, and at an average net price near $18,913 it is among the more affordable conservatories here.
Rutgers University
Acting at Rutgers is a conservatory concentration within the BFA in Theater at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, built on the Meisner lineage of master teacher William Esper. Students train through four years of acting, on-camera, and classical work and spend a full year at the Rutgers Conservatory at Shakespeare's Globe in London. The program is highly selective, and its alumni include Sebastian Stan, Calista Flockhart, and Tony winner Jane Krakowski.
Slippery Rock University
Slippery Rock anchors its BFA in Acting in a smaller, student-centered department that puts actors on stage from the first semester, with rigorous work in contemporary methods alongside Shakespeare and the classics. It is the only Pennsylvania State System school accredited in theatre, art, music, and dance, and it performs in a $30 million performing arts center that opened in 2021. Admission is highly selective with a video prescreen, and the average net price sits near $19,608.
Boston University
Boston University's School of Theatre, inside the College of Fine Arts, pairs conservatory-style actor training with a large research university and links students to professional companies through its Professional Theatre Initiative. Every performance student shares a first-year core in acting, voice, movement, and Alexander Technique before declaring an acting major, then works across a full season in studio classes of roughly 14 students. The program is highly selective with a video prescreen, and its acting alumni include Julianne Moore, Geena Davis, Michael Chiklis, and Ginnifer Goodwin.
Syracuse University
Syracuse trains actors in a conservatory-style BFA in Acting set inside a major research university, with a longstanding partnership with the professional Syracuse Stage and a place on Playbill's list of the colleges most represented on Broadway. Students build from roughly 18 hours a week of first-year studio work toward electives like acting for camera and stage combat, and they can take a semester in New York through the Tepper Semester or a term at Shakespeare's Globe in London. Admission is highly selective with a video prescreen, and its graduates include actor Vera Farmiga and four-time Tony winner Frank Langella.
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How we ranked this
We counted how many stageready users have each school's acting program saved to a college list, then ranked the schools whose acting programs appear most often. Acting here means a program mapped to the acting discipline, whether that is a standalone BFA in Acting, a conservatory track inside a broader theatre or drama degree, or a BA with an acting emphasis.
A few caveats. Popularity is not the same as fit or quality, and a program ranking lower here, or not appearing at all, says nothing about whether it is right for you. Save counts sit close together through the middle of this list, so treat the order as a rough guide rather than a precise gap. User interest also shifts over time, so this reflects June 2026. For deadlines, prescreen requirements, and full audition details, open each school's page and build your own list.
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