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2025 Best Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

5 Colleges in Illinois
121 Master's Degrees
$24,196 Avg Early-Career Salary
a master's degree in drama & theater arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #83 out of 343 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 5 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of drama & theater arts. Combined, these schools handed out 121 master's degrees in drama & theater arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Drama & Theater Arts School for Your Master's Degree

Best Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools in Illinois Your choice of drama & theater arts for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for drama & theater arts students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Drama & Theater Arts Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Theater Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Drama & Theater Arts Master's Degree Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Drama & Theater Arts in Illinois

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in drama & theater arts.

Top Illinois Schools for a Master's in Theater

1

Northwestern University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a master's degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the theater program state that they receive average early career wages of $25,804.

More information about a master’s in drama & theater arts from Northwestern University

2
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL

It's difficult to beat DePaul University if you want to pursue a master's degree in drama & theater arts. DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.

Master's students who receive their degree from the theater program earn around $25,163 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in drama & theater arts from DePaul University

3

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in drama & theater arts. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign.

Those drama & theater arts students who get their master's degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign receive $2,343 more than the average theater grad.

More information about a master’s in drama & theater arts from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4
6 Annual Graduates

Roosevelt University is a wonderful decision for students interested in a master's degree in drama & theater arts. Roosevelt is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in drama & theater arts from Roosevelt University

5
7 Annual Graduates

Illinois State is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Normal.More information about a master’s in drama & theater arts from Illinois State University

Best Drama & Theater Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 211 27
Ohio 207 54
Indiana 191 17
Wisconsin 173 2

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

Theater Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Theater Arts 59
Playwriting & Screenwriting 40
Acting 14
Directing & Theatrical Production 8

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music 292
Fine & Studio Arts 278
Arts & Media Management 145
Design & Applied Arts 82
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 62
General Visual & Performing Arts 10
Dance 5

Notes and References

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