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2022 Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

5 Ranked Colleges
73 Degrees Awarded
$18,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that 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.

This year’s “Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in photography. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent photography programs, but they also 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Photography Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most 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 in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

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

Top 5 Best Value Colleges for Photography (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

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 in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s photography degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Photography Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $8,464 for Illinois Photography students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UIUC.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UIUC Photography Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. University of Illinois at Chicago is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC also took the #4 spot in our “Best Photography Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIC is $11,185 for Illinois Photography students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%.

Read more about Photography at University of Illinois at Chicago

#3

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Bradley University landed the #3 spot on the list. Bradley is a medium-sized school located in Peoria, Illinois that handed out 9 ’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

Bradley also took the #2 spot in our “Best Photography Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Bradley University is $18,232 for illinois photography students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%.

Read more about Photography at Bradley

#4

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Columbia College Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s photography degrees to 49 students in 2019-2020.

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

Full Columbia Photography Report

#5

American Academy of Art

Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, American Academy of Art landed the #5 spot on the list. The Academy is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The Academy also made our “Best Photography Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $24,609 for illinois photography students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend American Academy of Art.

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 American Academy of Art

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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