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2022 Best Value Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

10 Ranked Colleges
631 Degrees Awarded
$24,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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.

This year’s “Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in film, video and photographic arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality film, video and photographic arts programs that also have a lower cost than 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 in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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 in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 13 degrees to qualified ’s film students in 2019-2020.

Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $16,784 for Illinois Film students whose families make $75-$110k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

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

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 14 diplomas to qualified ’s film students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UChicago is $17,929 for Illinois Film students whose families make $75-$110k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 ’s film degrees to qualified students.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $21,998 for Illinois Film students whose families make $75-$110k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 ’s film degrees to qualified students.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $20,270 for illinois film students whose families make $75-$110k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at UIC

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 38 degrees to qualified ’s film students in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for SIUC is $20,698 for Illinois Film students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#6

Dominican University

River Forest, Illinois

With a ranking of #6, Dominican University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Dominican U is a small school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 1 ’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois film students whose families make $75-$110k list, Dominican U has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $21,979 for illinois film students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Dominican University.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Dominican U

#7

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Peoria, Illinois. It awarded 9 ’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bradley, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Bradley University is $28,169 for Illinois Film students whose families make $75-$110k.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

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

#8

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Columbia College Chicago landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 336 ’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

Columbia not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Columbia College Chicago is $33,864 for illinois film students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full Columbia Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#9

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s film degrees to 195 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois film students whose families make $75-$110k list, DePaul has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend DePaul is $30,877 for illinois film students whose families make $75-$110k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

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

#10

American Academy of Art

Chicago, Illinois

American Academy of Art did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking, coming in at #10. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 2 degrees to qualified ’s film students in 2019-2020.

The Academy did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend The Academy is $32,536 for illinois film students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full The Academy Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

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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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