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2024 Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Plains States Region

35 Colleges in the Plains States Region
951 Theater Degrees Awarded
$22,630 Avg Early-Career Salary
Drama & Theater Arts is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #59 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 35 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for drama & theater arts students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 951 degrees in drama & theater arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Drama & Theater Arts School

Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Plains States Region Your choice of drama & theater arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Drama & Theater Arts School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Drama & Theater Arts Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Theater
Bachelor's Degrees in Theater
Master's Degrees in Theater
Doctor's Degrees in Theater

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Plains States Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Drama & Theater Arts in the Plains States Region

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the theater degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Plains States Region Schools in Theater

1
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
43 Theater Degrees Awarded
$25,923 Median Starting Salary

University of Iowa is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #84 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.

There were roughly 43 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the drama & theater arts degree program at University of Iowa get $3,293 more than the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from University of Iowa

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In MO
15.4% Growth in Graduates

Washington University in St Louis is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in drama & theater arts. WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Saint Louis. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.

There were roughly 13 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Washington University in St Louis

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
69 Theater Degrees Awarded
14.5% Growth in Graduates

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a good choice for students interested in a degree in drama & theater arts. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the city of Minneapolis. A Best Colleges rank of #51 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UMN Twin Cities is a great university overall.

There were approximately 69 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, theater degree recipients usually earn about $20,313 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

4
Webster crest
Webster University
Saint Louis, MO
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
50 Theater Degrees Awarded
$25,533 Median Starting Salary

Webster University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in drama & theater arts. Webster is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Saint Louis. A Best Colleges rank of #219 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Webster is a great university overall.

There were roughly 50 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Webster in the most recent data year. Drama & Theater Arts degree recipients from Webster University receive an earnings boost of about $2,903 above the average earnings of drama & theater arts graduates.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Webster University

5
Drake crest
Drake University
Des Moines, IA

Drake is a small private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Des Moines. A Best Colleges rank of #224 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Drake is a great university overall.

There were roughly 28 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Drake in the most recent data year. Those drama & theater arts students who get their degree from Drake University make $2,727 more than the typical theater graduate.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Drake University

6
Lindenwood University crest
Lindenwood University
Saint Charles, MO

Located in the small city of Saint Charles, Lindenwood University is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 15th out of 48 colleges for overall quality in the state of Missouri.

There were approximately 20 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Lindenwood University in the most recent data year. Drama & Theater Arts degree recipients from Lindenwood University get an earnings boost of around $4,627 over the average income of drama & theater arts majors.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Lindenwood University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In MO
26.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #124 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Mizzou is a great university overall.

There were about 19 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Mizzou in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from University of Missouri - Columbia

8

NWU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Lincoln. This university ranks 8th out of 19 colleges for overall quality in the state of Nebraska.

There were roughly 29 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at NWU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the theater program state that they receive average early career wages of $23,014.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Nebraska Wesleyan University

9
Luther crest
Luther College
Decorah, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In IA
50.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the remote town of Decorah, Luther is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 7th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 8 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at Luther in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from Luther College

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$21,551 Median Starting Salary
$22,092 Median Student Debt

UNI is a medium-sized public university located in the city of Cedar Falls. A Best Colleges rank of #199 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.

There were roughly 19 drama & theater arts students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the theater program earn an average of $21,551 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in drama & theater arts from University of Northern Iowa

Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best drama & theater arts schools for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 284 231
Missouri 283 289
Kansas 266 95
Iowa 264 160
Nebraska 238 104
North Dakota 210 9
South Dakota 204 32

View All Rankings >

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Drama & Theater Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Theater Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Theater Arts 681
Playwriting & Screenwriting 61
Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft 50
Acting 47
Musical Theater 46
Theater Design & Technology 45
Directing & Theatrical Production 17
Costume Design 4

View All Theater Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Theater

Related Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 2,327
Fine & Studio Arts 1,752
Music 1,308
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 540
General Visual & Performing Arts 302
Dance 112
Arts & Media Management 68
Other Visual Art 21

View All Theater Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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