Columbia College Chicago: Statistics

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Position Category
#2741 of 14,131 In the World
#777 of 2,597 In North America
#711 of 2,496 In the United States
#30 of 100 In Illinois
#10 of 38 In Chicago
#865 of 1,592 For Media Studies
Subject rankings

Quick Review

Acceptance rate
89%
Avg. cost to attend
$29,473 /y
Aid receiving
100%
Undergraduates
5,422
Graduates
148
Male:Female Ratio
39:61
Control
Private
not-for-profit
Highest Degree
Master's degree
Website
www.colum.edu

Columbia College Chicago Acceptance rate and admissions statistics

Columbia College Chicago has an acceptance rate of 89% and is among the 39% of the easiest universities to gain admission to in the United States. The university reports the admission statistics without distinguishing between local and international students.

Total Men Women
Acceptance Rate 89% 87% 91%
Applicants 7,079 2,651 3,905
Admissions 6,333 2,299 3,559
Freshmen enrolled full time 944 379 458
Freshmen enrolled part time 15 8 5

1,869 students enrolled in some distance education courses.

37 enrolled exclusively in distance education.

Admissions requirements

Secondary school record Required
TOEFL Required
College-preparatory program Considered but not required
Formal demonstration of competencies Considered but not required
Recommendations Considered but not required
Secondary school GPA Considered but not required
Secondary school rank Considered but not required
Other Tests Neither required nor recommended
SAT/ACT Neither required nor recommended

Enrollment demographics by race or ethnicity

White 2177 (39%)
Hispanic 1539 (28%)
Black or African American 1042 (19%)
Nonresident Alien 282 (5%)
Two or more races 261 (5%)
Asian 201 (4%)
Race or Ethnicity unknown 52 (0.9%)
American Indian or Alaska Native 5 (0.1%)
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 2 (0%)

Costs per year: Tuition, Housing, Fees

The average net cost to attend Columbia College Chicago is $29,473 per year, calculated as the sum of the average cost of tuition, room and board, books, and supplies, reduced by the amount of average financial aid received.

The final cost of attendance varies for each student based on household income, residency, program, and other factors.

Net average cost to attend
$29,473/year
Average aid awarded
$22,780
Students receiving aid
100%

Average costs by household income

<$30K $20,924
$30-48K $21,423
$48-75K $25,590
$75-110K $31,677
$110K+ $36,436

Tuition and fees

UndergraduatesGraduates
Tuition in-district $32,272$1,334
Tuition in-state $32,272$1,334
Tuition out-of-state $32,272$1,334
Fee in-district $1,816$1,210
Fee in-state $1,816$1,210
Fee out-of-state $1,816$1,210

Room and board costs

Dormitory capacity 2,105
Combined charge for room and board $16,838
Room charge $13,069
Meal charge $4,834

Columbia College Chicago majors

Columbia College Chicago has granted 1,289 bachelor's degrees across 45 programs and 98 master's across 10 programs. Below is a table with majors that lead to degrees at Columbia College Chicago.

Major Bachelor Master
Cinematography and Film & Video Production 236
Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special Effects 110
Fashion & Apparel Design 94
Acting 58 13
Graphic Design 70
Photography 56 8
Illustration 55
Creative Writing 36 16
Acoustics 51
Game and Interactive Media Design 45
Music Management 39
Music, General 35
Fine & Studio Arts, General 28 4
Marketing & Marketing Management, General 32
Musical Theatre 31
Interior Design 29
Fine and Studio Arts Management 13 15
Comedy Writing and Performance 26
Journalism 26
Music, Other 13 12
Radio and Television 22
Dance, General 20
Film & Cinema & Media Studies 20
Multi- & Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 16
Communication, General 14 1
Drama and Dramatics & Theatre Arts, General 15
Advertising 14
Digital Communication and Media & Multimedia 13
Recording Arts Technology & Technician 11
Technical Theatre & Theatre Design and Technology 11
Sign Language Interpretation and Translation 9
Computer Programming & Programmer, General 8
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management, General 7
Photojournalism 7
Public Relations & Image Management 7
Business & Corporate Communications, General 6
Art History, Criticism and Conservation 5
English Language and Literature, General 5
Intermedia & Multimedia 2 3
Deaf Studies 4
Music Theory and Composition 4
Documentary Production 3
Music Technology 3
Community & Environmental & Socially-Engaged Art 2
General Studies 2
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other 1
Retail Management 1
Grand Total 1,289 98

Columbia College Chicago has a graduation rate of 52%, which is among the 46% lowest for universities in the US.

Total Men Women
Graduation rate 52% 44% 56%
  • Full-time retention rate - 66%
  • Part-time retention rate - 23%

Publications & Citations

Columbia College Chicago has published 934 scientific papers with 5,807 citations received. The research profile covers a range of fields, including Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Political Science, Law, Computer Science, Sociology, Philosophy, Art & Design, Environmental Science, Engineering, and Psychology.

Publications
934
Citations
5,807

Publication / Citation count by topic

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
724 / 4,514
Political Science
462 / 2,489
Law
438 / 2,466
Computer Science
431 / 3,079
Sociology
428 / 2,890
Philosophy
405 / 2,479
Art & Design
318 / 1,936
Environmental Science
310 / 2,181
Engineering
307 / 1,829
Psychology
291 / 2,757
Physics
287 / 2,077
History
284 / 1,443
Mathematics
241 / 1,642
Biology
227 / 2,098
Medicine
212 / 1,851
Geography and Cartography
200 / 1,368
Linguistics
185 / 1,241
Business
181 / 952
Fashion Design
170 / 1,060
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
165 / 901
Math Teachers
162 / 842
Archaeology
157 / 971
Literature
153 / 889
Geology
141 / 1,325
Quantum and Particle physics
138 / 1,071
Education Majors
138 / 1,098
Economics
136 / 1,221
Acoustical Engineering
131 / 814
Library and Information science
112 / 517
Art History
103 / 485
Chemistry
97 / 730
Ecology
96 / 1,034
Paleontology
96 / 1,132
Aesthetics
93 / 591
Statistics
92 / 847
Development Studies
89 / 944
Media Studies
85 / 525
Social Psychology
82 / 634
Anthropology
80 / 703
Theology / Divinity / Religious studies
77 / 410

Annual publication & citation counts

Year Publications Citations
1993 3 14
1994 4 33
1995 5 24
1996 7 32
1997 2 28
1998 4 19
1999 5 18
2000 7 25
2001 5 26
2002 4 44
2003 13 26
2004 11 46
2005 17 42
2006 17 65
2007 17 82
2008 14 93
2009 33 94
2010 30 124
2011 26 148
2012 34 140
2013 33 177
2014 47 239
2015 51 220
2016 42 282
2017 36 274
2018 47 327
2019 61 311
2020 42 479
2021 41 443
2022 35 405
2023 25 390
2024 20 416
2025 17 353
Academic rankings

Columbia College Chicago alumni

  1. Michelle Monaghan

    Michelle Monaghan
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1976-.. (age 50)
    Occupations
    modeltelevision actorfilm producerfilm actor
    Biography

    Michelle Lynn Monaghan is an American actress. She has starred in the films Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Gone Baby Gone (2007), Made of Honor (2008), Eagle Eye (2008), Trucker (2008), Source Code (2011), Pixels (2015), and Patriots Day (2016). She also received recognition for her role in the action spy film series Mission: Impossible, making appearances in Mission: Impossible III (2006), Ghost Protocol (2011), and Fallout (2018).

  2. Becky Lynch

    Becky Lynch
    Born in
    Ireland Flag Ireland
    Years
    1987-.. (age 39)
    Occupations
    actorprofessional wrestlerstunt performer
    Biography

    Rebecca Quin, better known by the ring name Becky Lynch, is an Irish and American professional wrestler. She has been signed to WWE since April 2013, where she performs on the Raw brand and is the current WWE Women's Intercontinental Champion in her record-setting second reign. Lynch is often regarded as one of the greatest women's professional wrestlers of all time.

  3. Jake Lloyd

    Jake Lloyd
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1989-.. (age 37)
    Occupations
    voice actortelevision actoractorfilm actor
    Biography

    Jake Matthew Lloyd is an American former actor who portrayed young Anakin Skywalker in the film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) and Jamie Langston in Jingle All the Way (1996).

  4. Pat Sajak

    Pat Sajak
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1946-.. (age 80)
    Occupations
    television presentertalk show hostweather presenteractorradio personality
    Biography

    Patrick Leonard Sajak is an American retired game show host, television personality, and creative consultant. He is best known as the host of the television game show Wheel of Fortune, a position which he held from 1981 to 2024. Sajak also served as a consultant for the show, and hosted Celebrity Wheel of Fortune until 2025. For his work on Wheel, Sajak has received 19 nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host, winning thrice, and twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Game Show, winning in 2024. In 2019, he was recognized by Guinness World Records for having the longest-serving career as a game show host for the same show, surpassing previous record holder Bob Barker.

All 62 notable alumni

General info

Founded 1890
Motto Esse Quam Videri
To be, rather than to seem
Colors periwinkle, gray, black, white
Academic calendar September to May
Total FTE staff 737
Carnegie classification Master's Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs

Location and contacts

Address 600 South Michigan Ave
Chicago, Illinois, 60605-1996
United States
City population 2,746,000
Phone 3123691000

Columbia College Chicago in social media