2026 Best Musical Theater Schools in Illinois
Musical Theater programs are offered at a focused set of schools across the country. A focused field like this rewards careful comparison of the schools that offer it.
College Factual analyzed 11 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best musical theater schools.
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Best Schools for Musical Theater in Illinois
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest overall musical theater education in Illinois.
Top Schools in Musical Theater
No school ranked higher than North Central College this year for musical theater. This mid-sized private not-for-profit university is located in the city of Naperville. Roughly 64% of students complete a degree within six years here. There were roughly 11 musical theater students who graduated with this degree at North Central College in the most recent data year. Students who receive their musical theater degree from North Central College earn around $20,416 in the first couple years of their career. Students borrow a median of $21,000 to complete this degree.
Get the full musical theater details for North Central College
Columbia College Chicago is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in musical theater, landing the #2 spot this year. Set in the city of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit institution. Columbia College Chicago graduates 52% of students within six years. Columbia College Chicago awarded about 31 musical theater degrees in the most recent data year. Musical Theater graduates of Columbia College Chicago earn a median of $17,929 early in their careers. Columbia College Chicago graduates carry a median of $26,977 in student loans.
More information about a degree in musical theater from Columbia College Chicago
Millikin University came in at #3 on our 2026 list of the best musical theater schools. Millikin University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Decatur. About 55% of students finish within six years. About 16 musical theater degrees were awarded at Millikin University in the most recent year. Musical Theater graduates of Millikin University earn a median of $24,013 early in their careers. Typical student debt for the program is $27,000.
Get the full musical theater details for Millikin University
A rank of #4 makes Illinois Wesleyan University one of the top schools for musical theater. Located in the city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan University is a small private not-for-profit university. Illinois Wesleyan University graduates 75% of students within six years. Illinois Wesleyan University awarded about 14 musical theater degrees in the most recent data year. Students who receive their musical theater degree from Illinois Wesleyan University earn around $19,490 in the first couple years of their career. Students borrow a median of $27,000 to complete this degree.
Read more about the musical theater program at Illinois Wesleyan University
Roosevelt University is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in musical theater, landing the #5 spot this year. Set in the city of Chicago, Roosevelt University is a mid-sized private not-for-profit institution. About 46% of students finish within six years. About 35 musical theater degrees were awarded at Roosevelt University in the most recent year. Musical Theater graduates of Roosevelt University earn a median of $21,001 early in their careers. Students borrow a median of $26,000 to complete this degree.
More information about a degree in musical theater from Roosevelt University
More Musical Theater Rankings
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 11 schools evaluated.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
