Should I choose Johns Hopkins or Northwestern for an arts program?

Choose Northwestern for an arts-focused undergraduate experience, unless your primary goal is conservatory-level music training through Johns Hopkins’s Peabody Institute.

Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music, School of Communication, and Weinberg College create particularly strong pathways for students interested in music, theatre, film, writing for performance, arts administration, or the academic study of art.

Johns Hopkins has excellent arts opportunities, but its clearest standout is Peabody, a highly specialized conservatory in Baltimore. At the Homewood campus, Hopkins also offers strong options such as Writing Seminars, Film and Media Studies, and art history, but the overall campus culture and academic structure are more centered on research and the sciences.

Northwestern also offers a more unified campus setting for an arts student who wants to participate in productions, ensembles, screenings, and creative communities while studying another field. Its proximity to Chicago expands access to professional theater, music, museums, galleries, and internships. Hopkins is the more distinctive choice only when Peabody’s conservatory environment, or a specific Hopkins academic program you value, outweighs the broader and more campus-integrated arts ecosystem at Northwestern.