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Evanston, IL · Art, music & theater

Art, music & theater at Northwestern

Northwestern graduates about 182 art, music & theater majors a year, 9% of its graduating class. That puts it 3rd of 668 schools we score for art, music & theater, a standout program at 95 out of 100. Graduates in the major earn a median $51,000 four years out, 1.25× what the same major pays nationally. Research spending in the field runs about $2 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

Graduates a year1829% of the class
Median pay 4 years out$51,0001.25× the same major nationally
Research in the field$2Ma year, NSF
Admit rate7%whole school
SAT middle 50%1490–1570whole school

Around Northwestern

A photo of the interior of Dearborn Observatory. The dome is open, the red light
Dearborn Telescope with open domePhoto: Jackricono · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
The Shakespeare Garden in Evanston (1915). It was established by the Garden Club
Shakespeare Garden (8105928197)Photo: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Aggelos Katsaggelos
Aggelos KatsaggelosPhoto: Leandros89 · CC0 · source
This represents what PDMS looks like.
FabricwithinPDMSPhoto: Ih2283 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Where art, music & theater happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: Music Administration Building, Music Practice Building, Jones Fine and Performing Arts Residential College, Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, Regenstein Hall of Music, Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Shanley Hall.

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 96 · Dorm 44 · Fraternity or sorority house 13 · Arts 8 · Chapel 5 · Athletics 3.

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Nearby in the art, music & theater ranking

  1. University of Southern California 96
  2. Carnegie Mellon University 96
  3. New York University 95
  4. Vanderbilt University 95
  5. Dartmouth College 95
  6. Williams College 95
  7. Swarthmore College 95

Other strong majors at Northwestern

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares Northwestern with every school we score in art, music & theater. It weighs the school's overall strength; how many students graduate in the major and what share of the class they are; research spending in the field (NSF); early pay against the same major nationally; how many courses the catalog lists; and test scores. 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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