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2024 Best Photography Schools in the Great Lakes Region

19 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
249 Photography Degrees Awarded
Photography is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #310 most popular degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 19 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for photography students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 249 degrees in photography during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Photography School

Best Photography Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of photography school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Photography School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Photography Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Photography
Master's Degrees in Photography

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 the Best Photography Schools in the Great Lakes Region. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for Photography in the Great Lakes Region

The schools below may not offer all types of photography degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Photography

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL
44 Photography Degrees Awarded

Columbia College Chicago is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in photography. Located in the city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #370 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great college overall.

There were about 44 photography students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in photography from Columbia College Chicago

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL

Every student who is interested in photography needs to look into University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 8 photography students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in photography from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MI
28.6% Growth in Graduates

Grand Valley State University is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in photography. GVSU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Allendale. This university ranks 9th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were roughly 14 photography students who graduated with this degree at GVSU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in photography from Grand Valley State University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In OH
50.0% Growth in Graduates

Ohio University - Athens Campus is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in photography. OHIO Athens is a very large public university located in the distant town of Athens. A Best Colleges rank of #239 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means OHIO Athens is a great university overall.

There were approximately 2 photography students who graduated with this degree at OHIO Athens in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in photography from Ohio University - Athens Campus

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IL

UIC is a very large public university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 1 photography students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in photography from University of Illinois at Chicago

6
Oakland crest
Oakland University
Rochester Hills, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In MI

Oakland is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Rochester Hills. This university ranks 11th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 3 photography students who graduated with this degree at Oakland in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in photography from Oakland University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In OH

UDayton is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Dayton. A Best Colleges rank of #184 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UDayton is a great university overall.

There were roughly 4 photography students who graduated with this degree at UDayton in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in photography from University of Dayton

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IL

Located in the midsize city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #309 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Bradley is a great university overall.

There were about 1 photography students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in photography from Bradley University

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In OH
38.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Columbus, CCAD is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

There were approximately 21 photography students who graduated with this degree at CCAD in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in photography from Columbus College of Art and Design

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MI

Located in the large city of Detroit, CCS is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

There were approximately 9 photography students who graduated with this degree at CCS in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in photography from College for Creative Studies

Best Photography Colleges by State

Explore the best photography colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Ohio 939 42
Michigan 915 66
Illinois 870 55
Indiana 737 8
Wisconsin 672 3

View All Rankings >

One of 4 majors within the Film, Video & Photographic Arts area of study, Photography has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Film & Video Production 770
Film/Cinema/Media Studies 557
Other Film/Video & Photographic Arts 133
Documentary Production 18

View All Photography Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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