2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts in Illinois (With Aid)

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking.

Film, Video & Photographic Arts is the 64th most popular major in the country with 17,506 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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.

This year’s “Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in film, video and photographic arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great film, video and photographic arts programs and 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.

More Ways to Rank Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts in Illinois (With Aid)

#1

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

$27,036 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 3 masters’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #0 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UIC Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#2

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 Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #2 spot on the list. Northwestern University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 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 University

#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 Getting Aid. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s film degrees to 24 students in 2019-2020.

Columbia also took the #2 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Columbia are $2,350, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

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 join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s film degrees to 39 students in 2019-2020.

DePaul also made our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at DePaul University

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (With Aid)

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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