by our College Data Analytics TeamColumbia College Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution in Chicago, Illinois enrolling 5,368 undergraduates. It accepts 90% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 52%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,218 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 24%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Columbia College Chicago ranks #1,218 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 24%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Columbia College Chicago was awarded 18 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Columbia is ranked #1,218 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.
Within the state, Columbia holds the #61 spot on the Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
See all of the rankings for Columbia College Chicago.
Columbia College Chicago has an acceptance rate of 90%, so it is easier to gain admission to this school than some others. Still, the admissions staff will examine your application closely to make sure you’re a good fit for Columbia.
Learn more about Columbia College Chicago admissions.
With a student to faculty ratio of 15 to 1, Columbia College Chicago is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Columbia College Chicago is 37%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Columbia College Chicago is 66%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Columbia for first-time, full-time students is 52%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Columbia College Chicago.
During the most recent academic year, there were 5,368 undergraduates at Columbia.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Columbia College Chicago.
The overall average net price of Columbia is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $20,924 | $21,423 | $25,590 | $31,677 | $36,436 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Columbia, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Columbia, approximately 56% of students took out student loans averaging $6,617 a year. That adds up to $26,468 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 10.8%. This is about the same as the national default rate of 10.1%. Get more details about paying for Columbia College Chicago.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Columbia College Chicago make around $42,195 per year during the early years of their employment. Unfortunately, this is 14% less than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at Columbia College Chicago make the most money.
Columbia College Chicago is an private not-for-profit institution situated in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago is a great location for students who prefer city over country life. Get more details about the location of Columbia College Chicago.
Contact information for Columbia College Chicago are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 600 South Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605-1996 |
| Phone: | 3123691000 |
| Website: | www.colum.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/columbiacollegechicago |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/columbiachi |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 12 majors graduated from Columbia College Chicago. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 1,388 | NA |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 312 | $21,782 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 302 | $29,065 |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 166 | $20,854 |
| Arts & Media Management | 88 | $27,836 |
| Graphic Communications | 76 | $22,857 |
| Music | 76 | $18,502 |
| Writing Studies | 61 | $21,964 |
| Fine & Studio Arts | 56 | $24,822 |
| Physics | 45 | $54,861 |
1,884 students took at least one online class at Columbia College Chicago.
Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
Learn more about online learning at Columbia College Chicago.
Interested in comparing Columbia? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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