2025 Best Graphic Design Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

If you pursue a bachelor's degree in graphic design, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #84 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 8 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for graphic design students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 328 bachelor's degrees in graphic design to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Graphic Design School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Your choice of graphic design for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality graphic design program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on graphic design students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of graphic design students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized graphic design related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for graphic design students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Graphic Design Schools

The graphic design school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Graphic Design Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Graphic Design in Illinois

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in graphic design.

Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in Graphic Design

1

Columbia College Chicago
Chicago, IL

70 Annual Graduates

Columbia College Chicago is a wonderful option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in graphic design. Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in graphic design from Columbia College Chicago

2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL

71 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in graphic design. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in graphic design from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3

DePaul University
Chicago, IL

33 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in graphic design has to check out DePaul University. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in graphic design from DePaul University

4

University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

37 Annual Graduates

University of Illinois at Chicago is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in graphic design. UIC is a very large public university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a bachelor’s in graphic design from University of Illinois at Chicago

5

Bradley University
Peoria, IL

23 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in graphic design from Bradley University

6

Elmhurst University
Elmhurst, IL

10 Annual Graduates

Elmhurst is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Elmhurst.More information about a bachelor’s in graphic design from Elmhurst University

7

North Central College
Naperville, IL

14 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Naperville, North Central is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in graphic design from North Central College

8

Northeastern Illinois University
Chicago, IL

13 Annual Graduates

Northeastern Illinois University is a medium-sized public university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a bachelor’s in graphic design from Northeastern Illinois University

Best Graphic Design Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Graphic Design Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Michigan	629	270
Ohio	612	183
Indiana	535	42
Wisconsin	435	141

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Rankings in Majors Related to Graphic Design

Graphic Design is one of 9 different types of Design & Applied Arts programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Graphic Design

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Game & Interactive Media Design	118
Fashion Design	75
Interior Design	64
Illustration	64
Visual Communications	47
Industrial Design	22
Commercial & Advertising Art	17

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard). More about our data sources and methodologies.