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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Photography (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

4 Ranked Colleges
67 Degrees Awarded
$19,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 2,438 people earned their degree in photography, making the major the 291st most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 73 photography graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 67 photography graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in photography. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great photography 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 photography program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Photography Schools

The photography 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 Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree photography students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Photography (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s photography degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $8,464 for illinois bachelor’s degree photography students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UIUC.

The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full UIUC Photography Report

#2

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bradley University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Bradley is a medium-sized school located in Peoria, Illinois that handed out 9 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

Bradley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $18,232 for illinois bachelor’s degree photography students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Bradley University.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Photography at Bradley University

#3

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Columbia College Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Columbia College Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 44 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Columbia did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Columbia College Chicago is $27,397 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Photography students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Columbia Photography Report

#4

American Academy of Art

Chicago, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend American Academy of Art. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. The Academy is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s photography degrees to qualified students.

The Academy also made our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for American Academy of Art is $24,609 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Photography students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Photography at The Academy

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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