Acting school vs acting classes: degrees, conservatories and ongoing classes compared

Acting school vs acting classes comes down to this: a degree or conservatory buys you two to four years of full-time, structured training with a cohort and productions, while ongoing acting classes let you train part time, for far less money, while you work and audition. You do not need a degree to act professionally. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says some actors have a bachelor's degree in a field such as performing arts, "but a degree is not usually required" (BLS).

The same page adds the part people skip: "most actors acquire some formal preparation," through a conservatory, a college drama or theater program, or classes at performing arts high schools and theater companies, and "many actors continue to train throughout their careers" through workshops, rehearsals and coaching (BLS). So the real question is not whether to train, but which format fits your age, money, location and goals. This guide lays out what each path actually is, what it costs, how to pay for it and how to decide.

Quick rule of thumb: if you are about to start college anyway and want stage-heavy training, a B.F.A. or conservatory is worth auditioning for. If you are past college age, already in Los Angeles, or need to keep a job, ongoing classes plus real auditions are the usual route.

People use "acting school" for very different things. Before comparing, know which one you are looking at:

• A university B.F.A. in acting. A four-year professional degree you audition into. USC's B.F.A. in Acting for Stage and Screen, for example, asks applicants for two filmed, memorized monologues under 90 seconds each, one classical and one contemporary, and has a December 1, 2026 deadline; it has limited spots and suggests adding its B.A. in Dramatic Arts as a second choice (USC School of Dramatic Arts).
• A university B.A. in theater or drama. A liberal arts degree with a theater major, usually with fewer acting hours and more general study (see the next section).
• An M.F.A. in acting. A graduate degree, normally three years of full-time study, often ending in an industry showcase.
• A private conservatory certificate. Full-time training without a bachelor's degree. The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute's Los Angeles 2-Year Conservatory, for instance, runs 72 weeks (six 12-week sessions) at 22 classroom hours a week and awards a Certificate of Merit, not a degree (Strasberg).
• Community college theater. Public, low-cost training toward a certificate or associate degree, often with productions.
• Ongoing studio classes. A weekly scene study, technique, on-camera or improv class you join and leave by the month or course. This is what most working Los Angeles actors mean by "class."

The National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST), the national accrediting body for theater schools, defines the degrees by how much of the course load is theater (NAST Handbook 2026-27):

• B.A. or B.S. in Theatre (liberal arts degree): normally 30% to 50% theater content. NAST describes it as theater "in the context of a broad program of general studies."
• B.F.A. (professional degree): normally at least 65% of course credit in theater. For a B.F.A. in Acting, NAST's guideline is 30–40% in the major area (acting, voice, speech, movement and performances), 20–30% in supporting theater courses and 25–35% in general studies.
• M.F.A. in Acting: A graduate degree in performance. A program "normally requires three years of full-time graduate study" and at least 60 semester credit hours, and students should have at least two significant roles in full-length public productions, on stage or on camera.

What that means in practice: a B.A. leaves room for a double major or a fallback field, and is usually easier to get into. A B.F.A. is closer to a conservatory inside a university, with daily voice, movement and acting work. An M.F.A. is a second, deeper round of training, and NAST recognizes it as the appropriate terminal degree for university performance faculty, while allowing schools to hire artist-teachers with equivalent experience instead. Ask any program whether it is NAST-accredited and how many productions students actually get cast in each year.

• Hours. Twenty-plus hours a week of training is hard to match with evening classes. Strasberg's conservatory, for example, is 22 classroom hours a week (Strasberg), far more than most part-time evening schedules allow.
• Breadth. Degree programs train voice, speech, dialects, movement, verse and period styles alongside acting. NAST lists all of these among the competencies a B.F.A. in Acting graduate should show (NAST).
• Productions. Full-length plays in front of an audience are built into degree programs. In classes you usually work scenes, not whole productions.
• A showcase. Some programs end with an industry showcase. CalArts describes its annual Actors Showcase as graduating actors presenting their work "to industry professionals in Los Angeles and New York," including agents, managers and casting directors (CalArts). A showcase is a chance to be seen, not a promise of representation.
• A cohort. Classmates become collaborators, scene partners and future referrals.
• Structure. A curriculum decides the order for you, which suits people who would otherwise drift between teachers.

• You can work while you train. Classes meet evenings and weekends, so you can keep a job and go to auditions the next morning.
• You choose the teacher and the technique. If a Meisner class is not working, you can try a Stanislavski-based scene study or Method class next month. The acting techniques guide compares them.
• You can target a gap. Need on-camera work for self-tapes, or cold reading for auditions? Take a short course in exactly that, such as on-camera and self-tape classes or audition prep.
• You can try before you commit. Some LA studios let you audit a class before you pay, which a degree program cannot offer.
• The cost is spread out. You pay by the month or course and can stop at any time, rather than committing to years of tuition.

The trade-off is that nobody builds the curriculum for you. Classes give you as much training as you schedule, so the actors who get the most from them plan it: a core technique or scene study class, plus short courses for specific skills, plus real auditions and student films to use what they learn.

Costs differ by more than a factor of ten, so put real numbers side by side before you choose:

• Private university. USC lists 2026-2027 undergraduate tuition of $75,384 for two semesters, and a total cost of attendance of $103,162 living on campus (USC Financial Aid). At that rate, four years is about $300,000 in tuition alone before any aid.
• California community college. The enrollment fee for California residents is $46 per unit for fall 2026 through summer 2027, set by the state (Los Rios). A full-time 12-unit semester is $552 in enrollment fees, before books and other campus fees.
• Private conservatory. Tuition is set by each school and billed by the year or the session; Strasberg, for example, bills annually with installment plans and gives SAG-AFTRA members a 10% tuition discount (Strasberg). Ask any conservatory for its total cost, including registration and materials fees, in writing.
• Ongoing classes in LA. Priced by the month, the course or the session. Arlo's LA Acting Class Price Index shows current medians and ranges by billing type, and the acting class prices guide explains how to compare them per class hour. Low-cost options are on the free acting classes in LA page.

A fair comparison counts living costs too. A full-time program usually means little paid work for its duration, while class students keep earning. If you are moving for school or for classes, the moving to Los Angeles for acting guide covers rent and other start-up costs.

How you can pay is one of the biggest practical differences between the two paths.

• Federal student aid only covers eligible programs. To get federal grants or loans, you must be enrolled as a "regular student," meaning enrolled for the purpose of obtaining a degree or certificate offered by an eligible school (Federal Student Aid Handbook). Ongoing studio classes are not degree or certificate programs, so they are paid out of pocket. Ask any conservatory directly whether its program is eligible for federal aid before you count on loans.
• California licenses many private schools, but not hobby classes. The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) oversees private postsecondary schools in California, but an institution that offers "solely avocational or recreational educational programs" can apply for an exemption (BPPE). Strasberg's Los Angeles institute, for example, says it is licensed to operate by the BPPE (Strasberg).
• Why licensing matters to you. The BPPE's Student Tuition Recovery Fund can relieve economic loss for California students who prepaid tuition at a school approved by the Bureau (BPPE). If you are prepaying a large sum for a multi-month program, ask whether the school is BPPE-approved or exempt, and keep your enrollment agreement.

For classes, protect yourself the simple way: pay by the month or course rather than a year up front, read the refund and missed-class policy before you pay, and audit first when you can.

1. How old are you, and are you starting college anyway? If you are 17 or 18 and planning a degree, auditioning for B.F.A. programs costs little extra and gives you a real choice. Past college age, most actors build training around a job instead.
2. Do you want stage or screen? Degree programs lean toward theater (voice, verse, period styles, full productions). For film and TV, many LA actors combine a technique class with on-camera and self-tape work.
3. Can you go two to four years without much paid work? If not, a full-time program may not be realistic, whatever its quality.
4. What will you owe at the end? Divide the total cost by the hours of training and the number of productions you will be in. Do the same for a year of classes. Debt narrows the risks you can take later, such as leaving a steady day job to audition more.
5. Do you want to teach? If a university teaching career is a goal, NAST recognizes the M.F.A. as the appropriate terminal degree for performance faculty (NAST); classes do not lead to that credential.

The paths are not either-or. Plenty of degree graduates keep taking classes after they arrive in Los Angeles, and plenty of class-trained actors later audition for an M.F.A. Use the class-choosing checklist to vet any school or studio on teacher background, class size and total cost.

If you skip a degree, you still need the things a program would have given you. Build them on purpose:

1. A core class you stay in. Pick one technique or scene study class and commit for at least several months, so a teacher sees your progress over time. Compare options on Arlo's classes directory.
2. Specific skills as needed. Add short courses for on-camera, cold reading, improv, voice or stage combat when your auditions show a gap.
3. Performance hours. Classes rarely give you full productions. Get them from student films, community and small theater, and casting calls.
4. Professional materials. A headshot, an acting resume where training goes in its own section, and a demo reel once you have footage.
5. Industry access. Without a showcase, you reach agents through submissions, referrals and work; the agent guide covers how.

For the full step-by-step route from zero, see how to become an actor. Monologues for school auditions or class are on Offbook; the audition monologues guide covers how to choose and cut one.