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

13 Colleges in Illinois
734 Bachelor's Degrees
$21,279 Avg Early-Career Salary
Drama & Theater Arts is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #38 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 13 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 734 bachelor's degrees in drama & theater arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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

Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois Your choice of drama & theater arts for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality theater program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

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 bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

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

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

10 Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in Theater

1
89 Annual Graduates
$19,245 Median Starting Salary
$89,273 Median Student Debt

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

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program report average early career income of $19,245.

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

2
140 Annual Graduates
$17,929 Median Starting Salary
$58,426 Median Student Debt

Columbia College Chicago is a great choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program report average early career income of $17,929.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Columbia College Chicago

3
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
100 Annual Graduates
$22,021 Median Starting Salary
$76,179 Median Student Debt

DePaul University is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program state that they receive average early career wages of $22,021.

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

4

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in drama & theater arts. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the theater program earn about $22,159 in their early career salary.

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

5

UIC is a very large public university located in the city of Chicago.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the theater program make around $14,938 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from University of Illinois at Chicago

6
42 Annual Graduates
$24,013 Median Starting Salary
$37,655 Median Student Debt

Millikin is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Decatur.

Those drama & theater arts students who get their bachelor's degree from Millikin University receive $2,734 more than the standard theater grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Millikin University

7

Located in the city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the theater program earn an average of $19,490 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Illinois Wesleyan University

8

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Drama & Theater Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Illinois State University receive an earnings boost of about $7,679 above the average income of drama & theater arts majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Illinois State University

9
52 Annual Graduates
$21,001 Median Starting Salary
$89,011 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Chicago, Roosevelt is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the theater program make around $21,001 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from Roosevelt University

10
North Central crest
North Central College
Naperville, IL

Located in the medium-sized city of Naperville, North Central is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theater program report average early career wages of $20,416.

More information about a bachelor’s in drama & theater arts from North Central College

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 261 332
Ohio 252 453
Indiana 235 296
Wisconsin 213 256

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Drama & Theater Arts is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.

Theater Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Theater Arts 354
Acting 129
Musical Theater 105
Theater Design & Technology 63
Comedy Writing and Performance 44
Theatre and Dance 17
Directing & Theatrical Production 8
Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft 7
Playwriting & Screenwriting 4
Theatre Literature, History & Criticism 3

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 1,222
Design & Applied Arts 735
Music 557
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 446
Arts & Media Management 144
General Visual & Performing Arts 75
Dance 47
Other Visual Art 37

Notes and References

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