by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for acting students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 44 degrees in acting to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
Your choice of acting school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. 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.
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.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Acting Schools in the Plains States Region list to help you make the college 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.
Every student who is interested in acting needs to check out Webster University. Webster is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis. A Best Colleges rank of #273 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Webster is a great university overall.
There were approximately 14 acting students who graduated with this degree at Webster in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in acting from Webster University
Lindenwood University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in acting. Located in the small city of Saint Charles, Lindenwood University is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 13th out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were roughly 3 acting students who graduated with this degree at Lindenwood University in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in acting from Lindenwood University
University of Northern Iowa is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in acting. UNI is a moderately-sized public university located in the city of Cedar Falls. A Best Colleges rank of #270 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.
There were approximately 10 acting students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in acting from University of Northern Iowa
Any student pursuing a degree in acting needs to look into Nebraska Wesleyan University. NWU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Lincoln. This university ranks 13th out of 19 colleges for overall quality in the state of Nebraska.
There were approximately 7 acting students who graduated with this degree at NWU in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in acting from Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityExplore the best acting schools for a specific state in the Plains States Region .
One of 11 majors within the Drama & Theater Arts area of study, Acting has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Theater Arts | 594 |
| Playwriting & Screenwriting | 78 |
| Musical Theater | 52 |
| Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft | 45 |
| Theater Design & Technology | 35 |
| Directing & Theatrical Production | 23 |
| Costume Design | 8 |
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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