Columbia College Chicago — All Rankings Are Wrong

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Basic Information

Type Private

Geographical Reach National

Location Chicago, IL

Population 7,500,000

Website http://www.colum.edu/

Weather

Comfortable Days 105 (50%)

Sunshine Hours 2,508 (33%)

Days Without Precipitation 241 (38%)

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 5,270

Men / Women 38% / 62%

From State 55%

From Region 13%

Racial/Ethnic

White 39%

Hispanic 28%

Black 19%

Mixed 5%

Asian 4%

International 4%

Native American 0%

Men in the Entering Class

Men

Entering Class by Race & Ethnicity

Native Asian Black Hispanic White International

Share of the full-time first-time degree-seeking cohort. Groups IPEDS reports separately — two or more races, and race unknown — are left out, so the lines don't sum to 100%.

Enrolled Undergraduates by Race & Ethnicity

Native Asian Black Hispanic White International

Share of all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates, not just the entering class. Same excluded groups as above.

IPEDS Admissions (2011–2024), Graduation Rates (2011–2024) and 12-month Enrollment (2020–2025) surveys. Years a college didn't file leave a gap in the line.

Schools & Majors

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
Columbia College Chicago	1,324	37% / 63%	4%	$42,664	13	93%
Game and Interactive Media Design	35 —	69% / 31%	9%	$45,680	19	91%
Game and Interactive Media Design (Dev)	4 —	75% / 25%	0%	$67,520	73	—
Acoustics	45 —	73% / 27%	0%	$66,089	71	—
Sign Language Interpretation and Translation	16 +1	19% / 81%	0%	$48,193	25	93%
Advertising and Public Relations	13 —	38% / 62%	0%	$56,086	49	91%
Marketing	38 —	26% / 74%	11%	$61,695	63	92%
Retail Management	— —	—	—	$61,378	62	94%
Communication	12 +1	25% / 75%	0%	$47,547	24	—
Creative Writing	48 +1	17% / 83%	0%	$38,936	8	92%
Deaf Studies	1 +1	0% / 100%	0%	$43,461	14	90%
English	13 —	23% / 77%	8%	$42,916	13	—
Ethnic Studies	4 —	25% / 75%	25%	$43,461	14	90%
General Studies	1 —	100% / 0%	0%	$43,055	13	—
Interdisciplinary Studies	7 —	14% / 86%	29%	$38,359	7	98%
Journalism	18 +1	11% / 89%	0%	$49,320	29	90%
Photojournalism	6 —	50% / 50%	0%	$49,320	28	90%
Public Relations	7 —	43% / 57%	0%	$56,086	49	91%
Acting	70 —	39% / 61%	1%	$33,452	4	96%
Animation and Computer Graphics	76 —	43% / 57%	0%	$65,247	70	100%
Art History	7 +1	29% / 71%	0%	$40,783	10	89%
Arts Management	4 —	25% / 75%	25%	$37,134	6	93%
Audio Arts and Acoustics	5 —	60% / 40%	0%	$45,861	19	96%
Comedy Writing and Performance	24 —	62% / 38%	4%	$33,452	4	96%
Commercial and Advertising Art	— —	—	—	$45,680	19	—
Community Arts	1 —	0% / 100%	0%	$40,550	10	—
Contemporary Music	5 —	0% / 100%	40%	$32,124	3	89%
Dance	20 —	20% / 80%	0%	$28,330	2	94%
Digital Media	12 —	25% / 75%	0%	$44,571	16	96%
Documentary Production	2 —	0% / 100%	0%	$36,168	5	93%
Fashion Design	104 +1	16% / 84%	1%	$45,680	19	91%
Film Production	251 —	51% / 49%	6%	$36,168	5	93%
Fine and Studio Arts	— —	—	—	$40,783	10	—
Fine and Studio Arts Management	21 —	29% / 71%	14%	$37,134	6	93%
Graphic Design	64 —	30% / 70%	3%	$45,680	19	91%
Illustration	57 +1	16% / 84%	4%	$45,680	19	91%
Interior Design	40 —	15% / 85%	0%	$45,680	19	91%
Multimedia	6 —	17% / 83%	17%	$40,783	10	89%
Music	42 —	60% / 40%	5%	$32,124	3	89%
Music Management	52 —	44% / 56%	4%	$37,134	6	93%
Music Technology	8 —	88% / 12%	0%	$32,124	3	89%
Music Theory and Composition	9 —	78% / 22%	0%	$32,124	3	89%
Musical Theatre	32 —	28% / 72%	3%	$33,452	4	96%
Photography	49 —	41% / 59%	6%	$36,168	5	93%
Studio Art	38 —	11% / 89%	3%	$40,783	10	89%
Television	20 —	45% / 55%	0%	$44,571	16	96%
Theater	19 +1	32% / 68%	0%	$33,452	4	96%
Theatre Design	18 —	6% / 94%	0%	$33,452	4	96%

Financial

Tuition & Fees $36,003

ROI Percentile 13th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 66%

4-Year Graduation Rate 42%

6-Year Graduation Rate 52%

Transfer-Out Rate 28%

Six-Year Graduation Rate

Graduated

Students finishing within 150% of normal time. Each year labels the cohort that entered six years earlier — 2024 tracks the class that started in 2018.

Six-Year Graduation Rate by Gender

Men Women

IPEDS reports the cohort as men and women only.

Six-Year Graduation Rate by Race & Ethnicity

Asian Black Hispanic White International

Each group's completers over its own share of the entering cohort. Groups making up less than 2% of everyone this college graduated over the period are left off — their rates swing on a handful of students and read as noise.

IPEDS Graduation Rates survey, 2011–2024. Years a college didn't file leave a gap in the line.

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Academics

⇅	%	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
Arts	79.8%	1,056	36% / 64%	4%	$40,433	10	93%
Humanities & Social Sciences	8.8%	117	21% / 79%	3%	$43,612	14	92%
Business & Economics	3.9%	51	29% / 71%	8%	$60,265	59	92%
Physical Sciences & Math	3.4%	45	73% / 27%	0%	$66,089	71	—
Computer Science	2.9%	39	69% / 31%	8%	$47,920	25	91%
Health Sciences	1.2%	16	19% / 81%	0%	$48,193	25	93%

Admissions

Uses Common App Yes

Acceptance Rate 76%

Yield (Unbound) 15%

Regular Decision Jan 1

Acceptance Rates

	In-State	Out-of-State	International
Regular Decision	76%	76%	76%

Acceptance & Yield

Acceptance Yield

Applicants, Admitted & Enrolled

Applicants Admitted Enrolled

IPEDS Admissions survey, 2011–2024. Years a college didn't file leave a gap in the line.

Standardized Tests

Test Policy blind

Rankings

Arts

Trapped in the Render Queue Digital Arts & Photography

Digital Innovators

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