2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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.
In 2019-2020, 11,561 people earned their degree in theater arts, making the major the 69th most popular in the United States.
Across Illinois, there were 479 theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 434 theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking looked at 21 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in theater arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent theater arts programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the theater arts program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. 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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois
The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students.
Top 21 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for 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 public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 71 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
Illinois State also made our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $20,895 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students per year to attend Illinois State University.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. Located in Edwardsville, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 14 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.
SIUE also made our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $14,423 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students.
Read more about Theater Arts at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
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. Eastern Illinois University is a medium-sized school located in Charleston, Illinois that handed out 5 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
EIU also took the #9 spot in our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,607 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students per year to attend EIU.
Out of the 21 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. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 32 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Theater Arts Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. Northern Illinois University is located in Dekalb, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 bachelors’s theater degrees to qualified students.
NIU also made our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #15. It costs about $18,259 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students per year to attend NIU.
Western Illinois University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 8 degrees to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.
WIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Western Illinois University is $16,210 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students.
With a ranking of #7, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 7 degrees to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #19 spot in our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $16,945 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students.
University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s theater degrees to qualified students.
UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #18 on our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. 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 landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. 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 #16 on our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend North Park is $19,170 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Bradley University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Bradley University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Peoria, Illinois. It awarded 5 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
Bradley also took the #5 spot in our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Bradley University is $25,634 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Columbia College Chicago landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Columbia College Chicago is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 9 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
Columbia also made our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #14. The estimated yearly cost for Columbia is $31,099 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students.
Elmhurst University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Located in Elmhurst, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 2 degrees to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.
Elmhurst also took the #17 spot in our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $21,485 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students per year to attend Elmhurst.
The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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%.
Millikin University landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Millikin is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Decatur, Illinois. It awarded 30 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
Millikin did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Millikin is $21,331 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
North Central College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This small school is located in Naperville, Illinois, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
North Central also took the #13 spot in our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for North Central is $24,786 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Augustana College landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Located in Rock Island, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 16 degrees to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Augustana, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $23,874 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students per year to attend Augustana College.
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 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 #16. DePaul University is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 15 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at DePaul, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $30,090 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students per year to attend DePaul.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Loyola University Chicago ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Loyola University Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree theater students list, Loyola Chicago has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Loyola University Chicago is $35,407 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
With a ranking of #18, Lake Forest College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Located in Lake Forest, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 5 degrees to qualified bachelors’s theater students in 2019-2020.
Lake Forest also made our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #11. It costs about $26,426 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students per year to attend Lake Forest College.
The low student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%.
Illinois Wesleyan University landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Illinois Wesleyan University is a small school located in Bloomington, Illinois that handed out 7 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree theater students list, Illinois Wesleyan has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best 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.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.
With a ranking of #20, Knox College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Galesburg, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s theater degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.
Knox also took the #21 spot in our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Knox College is $22,292 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Theater students.
The low student loan default rate of 4.8% 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%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Northwestern University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Theater Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Northwestern is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 93 bachelors’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.
Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $24,664 for illinois bachelor’s degree theater students per year to attend Northwestern University.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
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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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