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2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

9 Ranked Colleges
101 Degrees Awarded
$22,000 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Theater Schools for a Master's in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Drama & Theater Arts is the 59th most popular major in the country with 18,124 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, drama and theater arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $21,403 and had an average of $26,932 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 844 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $21,300 and $27,875 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 101 drama and theater arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in drama and theater arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent drama and theater arts programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the drama and theater arts program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Drama & Theater Arts Schools

The theater 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 “Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Drama & Theater Arts in Illinois (With Aid)

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s theater degrees to 16 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#2

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the #2 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 2 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also made our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #0. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at NIU are $11,086.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at Northern Illinois University

#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 3 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are $32,928.

Read more about Drama & Theater Arts at SIUC

#4

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 6 degrees to qualified masters’s theater students in 2019-2020.

WIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at WIU are $11,996.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Western Illinois University

#5

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the #5 spot on the list. Illinois State University is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 7 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois State are $11,069, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Illinois State University Drama & Theater Arts Report

#6

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Northwestern University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Northwestern is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 21 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Northwestern University

#7

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois

Roosevelt University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Roosevelt University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 8 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

Roosevelt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Roosevelt are $21,605, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Drama & Theater Arts at Roosevelt

#8

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, Columbia College Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 12 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

Columbia also took the #6 spot in our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Columbia College Chicago are $2,350, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Columbia College Chicago Drama & Theater Arts Report

#9

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Theater Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. DePaul is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 26 masters’s theater degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul also made our “Best Drama & Theater Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760.

Full DePaul Drama & Theater Arts Report

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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