2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 17,506 people earned their degree in film, video and photographic arts, making the major the 64th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, film, video and photographic arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $22,714 and had an average of $31,549 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 631 film, video and photographic arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $23,838 and $41,036 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 85 film, video and photographic arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in film, video and photographic arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent film, video and photographic arts programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the film, video and photographic arts program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The film 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 “Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Northwestern is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 12 masters’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Northwestern

#2

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

$27,036 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 3 masters’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIC, the school also landed the #0 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at UIC

#3

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$2,350 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$32,391 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Columbia College Chicago. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 24 degrees to qualified masters’s film students in 2019-2020.

Columbia did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Columbia are $2,350, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Columbia

#4

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$30,984 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. DePaul University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 39 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at DePaul University

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $0-$30k)

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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