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Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Illinois

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

9 Colleges
$25,680 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$22,223 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Drama & Theater Arts School for You

Drama & Theater Arts is the #89 most popular major in Illinois with 106 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

The Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in Illinois to see which programs offered the best value experiences for theater students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Colleges.

Best Illinois Schools for Affordable Quality in Drama & Theater Arts

$27,786 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Columbia College Chicago to be the best value school for drama and theater arts students who want to pursue a degree in Illinois. Located in the city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Columbia undergraduate students pay an average of $27,786 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Columbia College Chicago

$13,968 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 9 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $13,968 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Illinois State not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Illinois list.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Illinois State University Report

$14,738 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Northern Illinois University is a great value for drama and theater arts students. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NIU are $14,738 a year.

Read More…

$17,634 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIUC are $17,634 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UIUC is ranked #3 for overall quality for theater in Illinois.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

$13,297 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Illinois University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Illinois list. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WIU are $13,297 a year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Western Illinois University Report

$15,240 Average Tuition & Fees

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Illinois ranking. SIUC is a large public school located in the city of Carbondale.

SIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $15,240 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#7

DePaul University

Chicago, IL
$42,012 Average Tuition & Fees

DePaul University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for drama and theater arts students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at DePaul are $42,012 a year.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at DePaul University

#8

Roosevelt University

Chicago, IL
$31,493 Average Tuition & Fees

Roosevelt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for drama and theater arts students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large city of Chicago, Roosevelt is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Roosevelt are $31,493 a year.

Read More…

#9

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL
$60,768 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drama and theater arts students. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Northwestern undergraduate students pay an average of $60,768 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Northwestern did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in Illinois list.

Read More…

Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 27
Ohio 61
Indiana 18
Wisconsin 3

Drama & Theater Arts is one of 9 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music 7,675
Fine & Studio Arts 3,224
Design & Applied Arts 1,979
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,704
Arts & Media Management 1,184

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 9 schools only.

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

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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