Northwestern’s theater program was ranked the second best undergraduate drama school behind The Juilliard School by The Hollywood Reporter.

NU finished ahead of both Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, which were ranked third and fourth respectively.

The ranking noted Stephen Colbert (Communication ‘86) and Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Communication ‘93) as famous alumni who graduated from NU’s theater school. It also mentioned that actor and filmmaker Warren Beatty was a dropout from the program.

Theatre Prof. Harvey Young, who chairs the department, said it is “refreshing” to be at a university where the president, provost, dean of the School of Communication and members of the Board of Trustees actively support theater. Young said ongoing renovation of the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts will further the program with the addition of more black boxes, seminar rooms and acting studios when construction is completed in 2017, Young said.

“It’s always nice to have the excellence of our students, staff and faculty recognized by national publications,” Young said. “Any person who has stepped on this campus knows that theater is a central part of Northwestern life.”

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