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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

8 Ranked Colleges
544 Degrees Awarded
$20,817 Avg Salary
Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 17,506 people earned their degree in film, video and photographic arts, making the major the 64th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, film, video and photographic arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $22,714 and had an average of $31,549 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 631 film, video and photographic arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $23,838 and $41,036 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 544 film, video and photographic arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in film, video and photographic arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great film, video and photographic arts 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 film, video and photographic arts 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 Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. UChicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 13 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also took the #2 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Chicago is $7,934 for illinois bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 0.6% 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 Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of Chicago

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 #2 for the Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s film degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $13,351 for illinois bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, 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 94%.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also made our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for SIUC is $14,985 for illinois bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at SIUC

#4

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Bradley University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Peoria, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 9 degrees to qualified bachelors’s film students in 2019-2020.

Bradley also took the #3 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Bradley is $22,865 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $48-$75k.

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 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 Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Bradley University

#5

Dominican University

River Forest, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dominican University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Dominican U is a small private not-for-profit school situated in River Forest, Illinois. It awarded 1 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $48-$75k list, Dominican U has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Dominican U is $18,582 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $48-$75k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Dominican U

#6

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Columbia College Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #6. Columbia College Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 312 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Columbia, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Columbia College Chicago is $31,071 for illinois bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Columbia College Chicago Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#7

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #7. DePaul University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 156 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul also made our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul is $28,075 for illinois bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at DePaul

#8

American Academy of Art

Chicago, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, American Academy of Art did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s film degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

The Academy also made our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for The Academy is $31,382 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $48-$75k.

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.

Full The Academy Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

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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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