Columbia College Chicago has been named No. 1 in College Magazine‘s list of “Top 10 Colleges for Aspiring Comedians,” published July 11, 2019. With its nationally recognized BA Program in Comedy Writing and Performance at the Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department, Columbia topped a list of schools that also includes New York University, Harvard, Northwestern, Brown University, the University of California at Santa Cruz, the University of Michigan, Emerson College, the University of Pennsylvania, and Western Washington University.

Besides the Theatre Department’s Comedy Writing and Performance BA Program, the College Magazine article also cited the Theatre Department’s semester-long Comedy Studies program as a selling point. Both programs are offered in partnership with The Second City, the nation’s premier comedy theatre and training center, based in Chicago since its founding in 1959. The article also noted the Columbia College Improv Club, an independent student organization, as well as the richness of Chicago’s improv and standup comedy scene, including the Playground Theatre and its weekly College Improv Night.

The article also cited some of Columbia’s celebrity alumni, including Saturday Night Live cast member Aidy Bryant ’09 and actor Scott Adsit. To read the article, click here.

College Magazine, the national daily guide to campus life, features rankings of U.S. colleges, academic advice, career advice, and student health and collegiate dating tips, written for students by a team of student journalists from universities nationwide.