Columbia College Chicago
Chicago, Illinois · Private, nonprofit
Graduate earnings
18of 18 assessed undergraduate programs
have graduates earning more than a typical Illinois high-school graduate (about $36,082 a year).
18 of 27 undergraduate programs could be assessed. The other 9: 8 with no earnings published and 1 with nothing reported. The 13 graduate programs are in the table.
Average net price, all families$26,598 a year By family income
What it would cost
Net price is the yearly cost after grants and scholarships, as reported for students who received federal aid.
Average for all families
$26,598 a year
About $106,392 over 4 years, if price and aid stay the same.
This multiplies the reported yearly net price by the years you choose. It is not a quote or a prediction: it leaves out interest, price rises and the chance of taking longer to finish.
Net price for every income band
| Family income | Net price per year |
|---|---|
| Under $30k | $20,924 |
| $30k to $48k | $21,423 |
| $48k to $75k | $25,590 |
| $75k to $110k | $31,677 |
| $110k and up | $36,436 |
| All families (average) | $26,598 |
College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Bands with no figure were not reported by the school.
Program earnings
Median earnings of each program’s graduates against a typical Illinois high-school graduate ($36,082 a year).
22 of 40 programs could be assessed 55% have an earnings verdict
| Program | Degree | Median earnings | vs a high-school grad | Verdict | Median debt | Debt as years of gain | Recent completers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design | Bachelor's Degree | $48,601 | +$12,519 | clears the bar | $24,500 | 2.0 yrs | 258 |
| Graphic Communications | Bachelor's Degree | $43,970 | +$7,888 | clears the bar | $20,000 | 2.5 yrs | 212 |
| Film and Photography | Bachelor's Degree | $41,200 | +$5,118 | clears the bar | $25,000 | 4.9 yrs | 162 |
| Theatre | Bachelor's Degree | $39,986 | +$3,904 | clears the bar | $25,500 | 6.5 yrs | 140 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | Bachelor's Degree | $50,592 | +$14,510 | clears the bar | $25,000 | 1.7 yrs | 90 |
| Music | Bachelor's Degree | $40,734 | +$4,652 | clears the bar | $25,625 | 5.5 yrs | 53 |
| Fine Arts | Bachelor's Degree | $42,176 | +$6,094 | clears the bar | $25,000 | 4.1 yrs | 52 |
| Marketing | Bachelor's Degree | $65,686 | +$29,604 | clears the bar | $25,250 | 0.9 yrs | 47 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $39,751 | +$3,669 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 7.4 yrs | 46 |
| Radio, TV and Digital Media | Bachelor's Degree | $54,357 | +$18,275 | clears the bar | $23,400 | 1.3 yrs | 42 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Master's Degree | $57,240 | +$21,158 | above HS line | $48,604 | 2.3 yrs | 29 |
| Journalism | Bachelor's Degree | $51,639 | +$15,557 | clears the bar | $24,525 | 1.6 yrs | 27 |
| Public Relations and Advertising | Bachelor's Degree | $66,798 | +$30,716 | clears the bar | $24,225 | 0.8 yrs | 27 |
| Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians | Bachelor's Degree | $43,731 | +$7,649 | clears the bar | $26,250 | 3.4 yrs | 24 |
| American Sign Language | Bachelor's Degree | $45,619 | +$9,537 | clears the bar | $26,000 | 2.7 yrs | 19 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | Master's Degree | $60,136 | +$24,054 | above HS line | not published | not assessed | 16 |
| Dance | Bachelor's Degree | $41,842 | +$5,760 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 4.7 yrs | 15 |
| Interdisciplinary Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $49,593 | +$13,511 | clears the bar | $26,000 | 1.9 yrs | 14 |
| Film and Photography | Master's Degree | $53,147 | +$17,065 | above HS line | $83,900 | 4.9 yrs | 10 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $44,703 | +$8,621 | clears the bar | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Business Administration | Bachelor's Degree | $56,482 | +$20,400 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 1.3 yrs | 2 |
| Movement and Mind-Body Therapies and Education | Master's Degree | $59,340 | +$23,258 | above HS line | $67,949 | 2.9 yrs | 1 |
| Physics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 30 |
| Communications and Media | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 20 |
| Music | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 14 |
| Business/Corporate Communications | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 10 |
| Fine Arts | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Computer Programming | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Communications and Media | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Theatre | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| English | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Journalism | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Computer Software and Media Applications | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Teacher Education (by level) | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Liberal Arts and General Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Interdisciplinary Studies | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Kinesiology and Physical Education | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Design | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Movement and Mind-Body Therapies and Education | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Physical and Occupational Therapy | Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification) | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
Sources and definitions
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid. Debt is federal loans only.
- The high-school line is ED’s state benchmark, $36,082 a year.
- Earnings not published: ED reports the program but no earnings figure, usually because too few graduates were measured. Nothing reported: ED lists the program with no figures at all. Neither is a judgement of the program.
- Debt as years of gain is median federal debt divided by how much more graduates earn per year than a typical high-school graduate. It is not a repayment time.
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