2024 Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois
5
Ranked Colleges
56
Degrees Awarded
$21,500
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Photography is the 310th most popular major in the country with 2,184 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across Illinois, there were 56 photography graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered 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.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the photography program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois.
Top 5 Best Value Colleges for Photography in Illinois
Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 8 ’s photography degrees in 2020-2021.
UIUC also took the #2 spot in our “Best Photography Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $14,321 for Illinois Photography students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Full UIUC Photography Report
Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 1 ’s photography degrees in 2020-2021.
UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Photography Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,214 for Illinois Photography students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Photography at UIC
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Columbia College Chicago. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois. 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 44 students in 2020-2021.
Columbia also took the #1 spot in our “Best Photography Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Columbia is $26,258 for Illinois Photography students.
Read full report on Photography at Columbia College Chicago
Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Bradley University landed the #4 spot on the list. Bradley University is a medium-sized school located in Peoria, Illinois that handed out 1 ’s photography degrees in 2020-2021.
Bradley also made our “Best Photography Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $25,196 for illinois photography students per year to attend Bradley.
The low undergrad 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Photography at Bradley University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend American Academy of Art. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Photography Schools in Illinois. American Academy of Art is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 ’s photography degrees to qualified students.
The Academy not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Photography Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for American Academy of Art is $28,554 for illinois photography students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 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
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