Northwestern vs. Columbia: Which is better for undergraduate arts students?

For a student who wants to pursue both theater and creative writing as an undergraduate, Northwestern has the edge. Its School of Communication offers a substantial undergraduate theater curriculum and a highly active production culture, with opportunities in acting, directing, playwriting, design, and stage management. Creative writing is also well integrated into Northwestern’s English department, so pairing theater work with workshops in fiction, poetry, or playwriting is practical.

Northwestern’s arts environment is especially undergraduate-centered. Students can audition, write for, and work on numerous campus productions, including student-led theater, without relying primarily on a graduate-school arts ecosystem. Evanston also gives students access to Chicago’s major theater scene while preserving a campus community where it is easier to build sustained creative collaborations.

Columbia is compelling for a student drawn to literary culture, intellectual breadth, and New York City. Its Core Curriculum provides a rigorous common academic foundation, and Manhattan offers exceptional access to professional theater, readings, publishing events, and internships.

That makes Columbia particularly attractive when the city itself is central to the artistic plan, while Northwestern provides the more cohesive on-campus undergraduate structure for developing simultaneously as a theater artist and writer.