Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

18 Colleges
$29,337 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$21,938 Avg Salary

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.

2023 Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for theater majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 10 Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

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 medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Charleston.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at EIU are $12,297 a year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Eastern Illinois University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Illinois State are $13,968 per 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.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Illinois State University

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a great value for drama and theater arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUE are $11,496 per year.

Read More…

Out of the 18 schools 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 very large public school located in the city of Champaign.

UIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $17,634 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UIUC also made our Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #3.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

Out of the 18 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NIU are $14,738 per year.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Northern Illinois University

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 medium-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.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Western Illinois University Report

University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree drama and theater arts programs. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public school 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.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at University of Illinois at Chicago Report

Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the small city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public college with a large student population.

SIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $15,240 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report

With a ranking of #9, Columbia College Chicago did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drama and theater arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Columbia is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Columbia are $27,786 per 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.

Read More…

#10

Roosevelt University

Chicago, IL

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.

Roosevelt undergraduate students pay an average of $31,493 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $803, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Drama & Theater Arts at Roosevelt University Report

Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Drama & Theater Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 364
Ohio 523
Indiana 315
Wisconsin 259

One of 10 majors within the area of study, drama and theater arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.