2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 855 degrees and certificates were awarded to drama and theater arts students who went to a Illinois college or university. This makes it the #47 most popular major in the state.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
The Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 18 schools in Illinois to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for theater students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found Eastern Illinois University to be the best value school for drama and theater arts students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Illinois. EIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Charleston.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at EIU are $12,297 per year.
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Out of the 18 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $13,968 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Illinois State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public college with a large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUE are $11,496 per year.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great value for drama and theater arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIUC are $17,634 per year.
UIUC did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Northern Illinois University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value drama and theater arts schools in Illinois. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NIU are $14,738 a year.
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Western Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for drama and theater arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. WIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WIU are $13,297 a year.
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University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for drama and theater arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public college with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIC are $15,603 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, theater majors at UIC accumulate an average of around $24,311 in student debt.
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Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for drama and theater arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the small city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SIUC are $15,240 a year.
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Columbia College Chicago ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Columbia is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
Columbia undergraduate students pay an average of $27,786 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, theater majors at Columbia accumulate an average of around $25,272 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $613, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Roosevelt University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Roosevelt is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Roosevelt are $31,493 per year. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $803, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
Request InformationBest Value Drama & Theater Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 364 |
| Ohio | 523 |
| Indiana | 315 |
| Wisconsin | 259 |
More Drama & Theater Arts Rankings in Illinois
Drama & Theater Arts Related Majors for Theater
One of 10 majors within the area of study, drama and theater arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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 18 schools only.
- 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.