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Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

19 Colleges
$26,022 Avg Salary
$26,083 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, visual and performing arts students earned 5,502 degrees and certificates from an Illinois school, making the subject the 10th in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 19 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the best school in Illinois for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

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Out of the 19 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wheaton College Illinois. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Wheaton.

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#5

North Central College

Naperville, IL

Out of the 19 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, North Central College landed the # 5 spot on the list. North Central is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Naperville.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at North Central College Report

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#6

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington, IL

Illinois Wesleyan University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Illinois Wesleyan is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Bloomington.

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Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

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#8

Millikin University

Decatur, IL

Millikin University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the city of Decatur, Millikin is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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#9

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Bradley University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the midsize city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

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#10

Roosevelt University

Chicago, IL

Roosevelt University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Chicago, Roosevelt is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 2,306
Michigan 3,433
Ohio 4,641
Wisconsin 2,248

Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 37,413
Design & Applied Arts 36,301
Music 25,910
Drama & Theater Arts 17,341
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 16,778
General Visual & Performing Arts 6,355
Arts & Media Management 4,788
Dance 3,288
Other Visual Art 912
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 119
Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art 10

Majors Similar to Visual & Performing Arts

Related Major Annual Graduates
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 556,813
English Language & Literature 54,635
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 33,333
Theology & Religious Vocations 27,459
Philosophy & Religious Studies 19,993

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 19 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 Bonnielou2013.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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