2023 Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region
12
Ranked Colleges
207
Degrees Awarded
$21,000
Avg Net Price*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Musical Theater is the 426th most popular major in the country with 995 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 207 musical theater graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in musical theater. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality musical theater programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the musical theater program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
More Ways to Rank Musical Theater Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. 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.
Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region musical theatre students.
Top 12 Best Value Colleges for Musical Theater in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Michigan University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large school is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and it awarded 10 ’s musical theatre degrees in 2020-2021.
WMU also made our “Best Musical Theater Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $20,371 for Great Lakes Region Musical Theatre students per year to attend Western Michigan University.
Full WMU Musical Theater Report
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Michigan University landed the #2 spot on the list. Central Michigan University is a fairly large school located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan that handed out 7 ’s musical theatre degrees in 2020-2021.
Central Michigan also made our “Best Musical Theater Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #11. The yearly cost to attend Central Michigan University is $16,007 for great lakes region musical theatre students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Central Michigan University Musical Theater Report
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Oakland University landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and it awarded 13 ’s musical theatre degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region musical theatre students list, Oakland has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Musical Theater Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $13,449 for great lakes region musical theatre students per year to attend Oakland.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Musical Theater at Oakland University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Columbia College Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 30 ’s musical theatre degrees in 2020-2021.
Columbia also took the #3 spot in our “Best Musical Theater Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Columbia is $26,258 for great lakes region musical theatre students.
Full Columbia College Chicago Musical Theater Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Roosevelt University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s musical theatre degrees to 38 students in 2020-2021.
Roosevelt did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Musical Theater Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Roosevelt University is $21,678 for Great Lakes Region Musical Theatre students.
Read more about Musical Theater at Roosevelt
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Bloomington, Indiana, and it awarded 16 ’s musical theatre degrees in 2020-2021.
IU Bloomington did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Musical Theater Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $14,619 for great lakes region musical theatre students per year to attend IU Bloomington.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Musical Theater at Indiana University - Bloomington
Otterbein University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Westerville, Ohio, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 4 degrees to qualified ’s musical theatre students in 2020-2021.
Otterbein also made our “Best Musical Theater Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for Otterbein is $22,881 for great lakes region musical theatre students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Otterbein University Musical Theater Report
Millikin University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Millikin University is a small school located in Decatur, Illinois that handed out 20 ’s musical theatre degrees in 2020-2021.
Millikin also took the #8 spot in our “Best Musical Theater Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Millikin University is $19,135 for Great Lakes Region Musical Theatre students.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full Millikin University Musical Theater Report
With a ranking of #9, North Central College did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. North Central College is located in Naperville, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 17 ’s musical theatre degrees to qualified students.
North Central also made our “Best Musical Theater Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $25,199 for Great Lakes Region Musical Theatre students per year to attend North Central.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Musical Theater at North Central
Anderson University Indiana came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Anderson University Indiana is a private not-for-profit institution located in Anderson, Indiana. The school has a small population, and it awarded 4 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region musical theatre students list, Anderson University Indiana has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Musical Theater Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Anderson University Indiana is $23,046 for great lakes region musical theatre students.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full Anderson University Indiana Musical Theater Report
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ann Arbor, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s musical theatre degrees to 19 students in 2020-2021.
U-M not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Musical Theater Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $14,878 for Great Lakes Region Musical Theatre students per year to attend U-M.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full U-M Musical Theater Report
Illinois Wesleyan University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Musical Theatre Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Bloomington, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 8 degrees to qualified ’s musical theatre students in 2020-2021.
Illinois Wesleyan not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Musical Theater Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Wesleyan is $34,738 for great lakes region musical theatre students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Illinois Wesleyan University Musical Theater Report
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Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
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