About Columbia

A destination for innovators for 135 years and located in the heart of downtown Chicago’s Cultural Mile,  Columbia College Chicago is a private, nonprofit school for creatives that offers a distinctive curriculum that blends creative and media arts, liberal arts, and business in 40 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Columbia students graduate career-ready, with creative and critical thinking skills, real-world problem-solving abilities, standout bodies of work, and industry connections to fuel their professional journeys and the creative economy.

From day one, students jump into their chosen work and learn from working professionals who know what’s relevant and have extensive industry connections that translate to career success. Our students graduate prepared for careers they never imagined entering as well as professions that may not have even existed when they started school. We train them for what employers expect, but also prepare them to adapt to the unexpected. We pride ourselves on supporting and embracing every way of being and creating.

A survey of 2023 graduates found that 96 percent were employed or achieving success in their creative practice within a year, with nearly 8 in 10 alumni reporting their employment at the 12-month mark aligned with their long-term career goals. 

Columbia alumni go on to shape and reshape industries in fields as varied as film and television, fashion, music business, video game design, journalism, and finance. Our alumni run movie studios and record labels; win Academy Awards, Pulitzers, Emmys, GRAMMYs, and National Book Awards; fill airwaves, concert halls, museums, and theaters; and are the forces behind investment funds, festivals, international consultancies, start-ups, humanitarian organizations, Michelin-starred restaurants, nonprofits, and government offices. 

The Value of a Columbia Degree

Creative careers start at Columbia College Chicago.  At Columbia, students learn from working professionals; they know what’s relevant and have extensive industry connections that translate to career success. Our curriculum is designed for collaboration across disciplines, and students are immersed in practice-based learning from day one.   
 
#1

• Students work in world-class facilities and master the technical skills needed to take their creative careers to the next level.

#2 

• Faculty and alumni are award-winners—they take home Oscars, Tonys, Emmys, GRAMMYs, and a slew of other industry recognitions, awards, and rankings in Animation, Fashion and other programs.

#3  

• Students live in Chicago—a world-class city that doubles as a creative lab, packed with arts, entertainment, and real-world media opportunities.  

#4  

• Graduates join Columbia’s 135-year legacy and tap into a powerful network of alumni who are successful entrepreneurs, chief executives, producers, directors, and marketing managers. Our alumni’s top creative employers are Disney, NBC, Apple, CBS, and Warner Bros.   

#5   

• Students create stand-out portfolios that land jobs—96 percent of graduates are employed within a year. Alumni have an average starting salary of $42,000 that grows to $100,000 on average at year 20. We are proud to have the highest social mobility score among private schools for creatives.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Columbia’s undergraduate tuition and fees–$33,886 for the '25-'26 academic year.

We offer generous financial aid programs to help students cover the cost of their education at Columbia College Chicago. The proof is in the numbers of our most recent academic year: 

• $86.0 million in institutional scholarships awarded to undergraduate and graduate students in Academic Year 2023-24. 
• 99 percent of first-year students and 98 percent of transfer students received some form of financial aid in Academic Year 2023-24, either scholarships, grants, or loans. 
• $16,416: The average total financial aid received for first-year students. 
• $15,127: The average total financial aid received for transfer students. 

Academics

• Offering 40 undergraduate and graduate degree programs: 33 undergraduate programs and 7 graduate degree programs.
• Columbia’s 30 credit-hour general education requirements are meant to facilitate first-year students’ immersion in their chosen fields and invest themselves more deeply in their major, take more courses in related creative areas, or select a minor in another discipline. 
• Emphasis on the body of work: Students can develop professional-grade portfolios over their course of study. 
• The average student-to-faculty ratio is 15:1. 
• Accredited by The Higher Learning Commission.

Student Life

The city is a major part of student life at Columbia. Chicago is a city of more than 200 neighborhoods, each having its unique identity and sense of community. Columbia’s campus is in the South Loop, known for its colleges, cultural institutions, and proximity to Chicago’s majestic Grant Park and Lake Michigan. Students can explore and sink their teeth into the vast cultural and professional opportunities that abound in this world-class city. 

• Our students come from all 50 states and more than 65 countries. 
• Half of our students (55%) self-identify as Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, or from two or more races backgrounds. 
• 51 percent of Columbia students are first-generation college attendees. 
• Nearly 1,700 students live in our four residence halls, all located just steps from our main campus. 
• More than 70 student organizations–from the Columbia Renegades Dance Team to Japanese Anime and Manga–express the diversity, interests, and energy of our students. 
• We do it, watch it, support it, applaud it: We are one of the largest presenters of cultural events in the city, with hundreds of events crowding our calendar each year–including student performances and gallery showings, faculty, and guest lectures, readings, and performances.