2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Drama & Theater Arts is the 59th most popular major in the country with 18,124 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, drama and theater arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $21,403 and had an average of $26,932 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 844 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $21,300 and $27,875 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 739 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking, we looked at 23 colleges that offer a degree in drama and theater arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent drama and theater arts programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the drama and theater arts program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” list to help you make the college decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois.
Top 23 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts in Illinois
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Illinois State is a large school located in Normal, Illinois that handed out 71 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
Illinois State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $20,895 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students per year to attend Illinois State University.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 23 schools in the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #2 spot on the list. SIUE is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s theater degrees to qualified students.
SIUE also made our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for SIUE is $14,423 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Eastern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Charleston, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s theater degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.
EIU also took the #10 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Eastern Illinois University is $14,607 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.
Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Eastern Illinois University
Out of the 23 schools in the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #4 spot on the list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s theater degrees to 32 students in 2019-2020.
UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. NIU is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 22 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree theater students list, NIU has also earned the #16 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $18,259 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students per year to attend NIU.
Full Northern Illinois University Drama & Theater Arts Report
With a ranking of #6, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Western Illinois University is a medium-sized school located in Macomb, Illinois that handed out 8 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree theater students list, WIU has also earned the #21 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Western Illinois University is $16,210 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.
Full Western Illinois University Drama & Theater Arts Report
Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
SIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $16,945 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students.
With a ranking of #8, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 25 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree theater students list, UIC has also earned the #19 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,312 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
North Park University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. North Park is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
North Park not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #17 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $19,170 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students per year to attend North Park.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Bradley University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Bradley University is located in Peoria, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 bachelors’s theater degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bradley, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Bradley University is $25,634 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Bradley University
Columbia College Chicago came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Columbia College Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 157 bachelors’s theater degrees to qualified students.
Columbia also took the #15 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $31,099 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students per year to attend Columbia.
Roosevelt University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #12. Roosevelt is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 51 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
Roosevelt also took the #22 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $22,749 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students per year to attend Roosevelt.
With a ranking of #13, Elmhurst University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Elmhurst University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Elmhurst, Illinois. It awarded 4 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Elmhurst, the school also landed the #18 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Elmhurst is $21,485 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Millikin University landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Located in Decatur, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 30 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.
Millikin also took the #13 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Millikin is $21,331 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
North Central College landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. North Central College is located in Naperville, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 bachelors’s theater degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree theater students list, North Central has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $24,786 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students per year to attend North Central.
The low student loan default rate of 3.9% 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%.
Augustana College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Augustana College is located in Rock Island, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 16 bachelors’s theater degrees to qualified students.
Augustana not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Augustana College is $23,874 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%.
DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #17. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 64 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend DePaul University is $30,090 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Loyola University Chicago ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 27 degrees to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.
Loyola Chicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Loyola Chicago is $35,407 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Lake Forest College landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Lake Forest College is a small school located in Lake Forest, Illinois that handed out 5 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
Lake Forest not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Lake Forest is $26,426 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Lake Forest College
Illinois Wesleyan University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #20. Illinois Wesleyan University is located in Bloomington, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 25 bachelors’s theater degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree theater students list, Illinois Wesleyan has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $26,039 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students per year to attend Illinois Wesleyan.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Knox College ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Knox is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Galesburg, Illinois. It awarded 3 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
Knox also took the #23 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $22,292 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students per year to attend Knox College.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #22, University of Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. University of Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s theater degrees to qualified students.
UChicago also took the #4 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Chicago is $27,315 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at University of Chicago
Northwestern University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #22. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 93 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $24,664 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
- Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts in the Great Lakes Region
- Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts
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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
Footnotes
- *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
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Donald Judge.
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