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Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

77 Colleges
$22,388 Avg Salary
$25,089 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Drama & Theater Arts School for You

Drama & Theater Arts is the #60 most popular major in the country with 17,341 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 77 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for theater majors pursuing a .

Top 15% Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools

#1

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

Our 2023 rankings named University of Notre Dame the best school in the Great Lakes Region for drama and theater arts students. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

On average, theater graduates from Notre Dame take out $20,250 in student loans while working on their degree.

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#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Northwestern University is a great place for drama and theater arts students. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

On average, theater graduates from Northwestern take out $16,333 in student loans while working on their degree.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Wisconsin - Madison is a great place for drama and theater arts students. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

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The excellent programs at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best drama and theater arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that theater majors at U-M take out is $18,750.

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#5

University of Evansville

Evansville, IN

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Evansville. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UE is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Evansville.

After completing their degree, theater graduates from UE carry an average student debtload of $23,970.

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#6

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a very large student population.

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Miami University - Oxford did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for drama and theater arts students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public college with a large student population.

The average amount in student loans that theater majors at Miami University - Oxford take out is $27,000.

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#8

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Michigan State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of East Lansing.

On average, theater graduates from Michigan State take out $26,294 in student loans while working on their degree.

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University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for drama and theater arts students. It came in at #9 on the list. UW - Stevens Point is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Stevens Point.

After completing their degree, theater graduates from UW - Stevens Point carry an average student debtload of $27,000.

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University of Wisconsin - La Crosse did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for drama and theater arts students. It came in at #10 on the list. UW - La Crosse is a fairly large public school located in the small city of La Crosse.

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University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best drama and theater arts programs. Located in the small city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public college with a large student population.

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Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Drama & Theater Arts students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
12 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI
13 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
14 Illinois State University Normal, IL
15 University of Dayton Dayton, OH

Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best drama and theater arts colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 364
Ohio 523
Illinois 855
Indiana 315
Wisconsin 259

More Drama & Theater Arts Rankings in the Great Lakes Region

Drama & Theater Arts is one of 10 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 37,413
Design & Applied Arts 36,301
Music 25,910
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 16,778
General Visual & Performing Arts 6,355

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Donald Judge.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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