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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

19 Colleges
$32,760 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$26,022 Avg Salary

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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 19 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for visual and performing arts students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

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

Our analysis found Illinois State University to be the best value school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Illinois. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Normal.

Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $13,968 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Illinois State is ranked #5 for overall quality for visual and performing arts in Illinois.

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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value visual and performing arts schools in Illinois. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population.

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

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UIUC is ranked #3 for overall quality for visual and performing arts in Illinois.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WIU are $13,297 a year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Western Illinois University Report

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Out of the 19 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the # 4 spot on the list. NIU is a large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NIU are $14,738 a year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University

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Out of the 19 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the # 5 spot on the list. UIC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIC are $15,603 per year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Illinois at Chicago Report

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With a ranking of #6, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on this year’s best value schools for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. SIUC is a large public school located in the city of Carbondale.

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

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Columbia College Chicago landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Columbia are $27,786 a year.

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Wheaton College Illinois came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Wheaton.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Wheaton College Illinois are $40,820 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Wheaton College Illinois is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Wheaton College Illinois Report

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#9

Roosevelt University

Chicago, IL

Roosevelt University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large city of Chicago, Roosevelt is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Roosevelt are $31,493 per year.

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#10

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Northwestern are $60,768 a year.

Northwestern not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Northwestern University Report

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Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value 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.

  • 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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