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Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

9 Colleges
$18,466 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,542 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 9 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for theater students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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 Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for theater majors pursuing a master's degree.

Best Illinois Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Drama & Theater Arts

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Columbia are $2,350 a year.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Illinois State are $9,773 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Illinois State is ranked #5 for overall quality for theater in Illinois.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Illinois State University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at NIU are $11,390 a year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Northern Illinois University Report

Out of the 9 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population.

UIUC graduate students pay an average of $17,823 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UIUC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

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

Out of the 9 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

WIU graduate students pay an average of $12,182 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Western Illinois University Report

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

SIUC graduate students pay an average of $16,162 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

DePaul University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

DePaul graduate students pay an average of $18,341 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at DePaul University Report

#8

Roosevelt University

Chicago, IL

Roosevelt University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree drama and theater arts programs. Located in the city of Chicago, Roosevelt is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Roosevelt are $21,605 per year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Roosevelt University Report

#9

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for drama and theater arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Northwestern are $56,567 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Northwestern is ranked #1 for overall quality for theater in Illinois.

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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