by our College Data Analytics TeamCollege Factual looked at 14 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Acting Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 249 degrees in acting annually.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
The acting program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Acting rankings. For our Best Overall Acting School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Acting Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. 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.
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 acting degrees they offer, see the list below.
Northwestern University is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in acting. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.More information about a degree in acting from Northwestern University
Columbia College Chicago is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in acting. Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #212 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great college overall.
There were roughly 45 acting students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in acting from Columbia College Chicago
Every student pursuing a degree in acting has to look into DePaul University. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.
There were approximately 37 acting students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in acting from DePaul University
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in acting. UC is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Cincinnati. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC is a great university overall.
There were about 15 acting students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in acting from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
OHIO Athens is a fairly large public university located in the town of Athens. A Best Colleges rank of #184 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means OHIO Athens is a great university overall.
There were approximately 15 acting students who graduated with this degree at OHIO Athens in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in acting from Ohio University - Athens Campus
Located in the small city of Kalamazoo, WMU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #322 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means WMU is a great university overall.
There were about 14 acting students who graduated with this degree at WMU in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in acting from Western Michigan University
UIC is a very large public university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #254 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 11 acting students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in acting from University of Illinois at Chicago
Millikin is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Decatur. This university ranks 40th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 5 acting students who graduated with this degree at Millikin in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in acting from Millikin University
Located in the small city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 18th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 6 acting students who graduated with this degree at Illinois Wesleyan in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in acting from Illinois Wesleyan University
Located in the city of Chicago, Roosevelt is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 24th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 14 acting students who graduated with this degree at Roosevelt in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in acting from Roosevelt UniversityExplore the best acting colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .
Acting is one of 11 different types of Drama & Theater Arts programs to choose from.
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Theater Arts | 1,437 |
| Musical Theater | 222 |
| Theater Design & Technology | 177 |
| Playwriting & Screenwriting | 64 |
| Directing & Theatrical Production | 43 |
| Comedy Writing and Performance | 39 |
| Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft | 26 |
| Theatre and Dance | 24 |
| Theatre Literature, History & Criticism | 4 |
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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