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2025 Best Dance Schools in the Great Lakes Region

15 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
342 Dance Degrees Awarded
$23,682 Avg Early-Career Salary
Dance isn't the most popular major in the world, but it's not the least popular either. To be more precise it ranks #158 in popularity out of 395 majors in the country. So, it might take a little more work to find colleges and universities that offer the degree program.

College Factual reviewed 15 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of dance. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 342 degrees in dance annually.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Dance School

Best Dance Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of dance school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Dance School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Dance Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Dance
Bachelor's Degrees in Dance
Master's Degrees in Dance
Doctor's Degrees in Dance

The dance school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Dance Schools in the Great Lakes Region. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Dance in the Great Lakes Region

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the dance degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Dance

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MI
43.5% Growth in Graduates

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in dance. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were about 23 dance students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in dance from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In WI
41.2% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of Wisconsin - Madison if you want to pursue a degree in dance. UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were roughly 17 dance students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in dance from University of Wisconsin - Madison

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$21,167 Median Starting Salary

Ohio State University - Main Campus is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in dance. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 24 dance students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the dance program report average early career earnings of $21,167.

More information about a degree in dance from Ohio State University - Main Campus

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in dance. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 11 dance students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in dance from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In OH
42.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the distant town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 91 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were approximately 14 dance students who graduated with this degree at OHIO Athens in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in dance from Ohio University - Athens Campus

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$25,456 Median Starting Salary

UWM is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Milwaukee. This university ranks 23rd out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.

There were approximately 17 dance students who graduated with this degree at UWM in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, dance degree recipients typically make around $25,456 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in dance from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In OH
6.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 16 dance students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in dance from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$14,831 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.

There were about 16 dance students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, dance degree recipients generally make around $14,831 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in dance from Indiana University - Bloomington

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$21,540 Median Starting Salary

WMU is a large public university located in the city of Kalamazoo. This university ranks 4th out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 19 dance students who graduated with this degree at WMU in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the dance program report average early career earnings of $21,540.

More information about a degree in dance from Western Michigan University

10
Butler crest
Butler University
Indianapolis, IN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IN

Located in the city of Indianapolis, Butler is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 10th out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.

There were roughly 5 dance students who graduated with this degree at Butler in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in dance from Butler University

Best Dance Colleges by State

Explore the best dance schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 97
Ohio 314 103
Illinois 304 37
Indiana 294 55
Wisconsin 273 49

View All Rankings >

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Dance has other similar majors worth exploring.

Dance Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Dance 325
Other Dance 15
Ballet 2

View All Dance Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Dance

Related Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 5,430
Fine & Studio Arts 4,323
Music 3,842
Drama & Theater Arts 2,285
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,712
Arts & Media Management 601
General Visual & Performing Arts 429
Other Visual Art 78
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 11

View All Dance Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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