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.
Around Northwestern
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.
Nearby in the art, music & theater ranking
Other strong majors at Northwestern
- Communications & media 97 · #1
- Public policy & social work 97 · #3
- Economics 96 · #7
- Computer science 95 · #15
- Engineering (all) 95 · #10
- Sociology & anthropology 95 · #6
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.



