---
title: Columbia College Chicago — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Chicago, IL
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $42,195 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $20,974 – $65,271 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $16,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,235 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 52% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $51,889 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 60% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.39× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $14,195 | derived |

**52% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $16,500 (≈ 39% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $18,502 to $54,861 across 23 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,861 | not reported |
| Movement and Mind-Body Therapies and Education. | Master's Degree | $42,521 | $67,949 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,669 | $24,225 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management. | Master's Degree | $37,418 | not reported |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,175 | $25,250 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,500 | $27,000 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Master's Degree | $32,614 | $48,604 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,841 | $24,525 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,229 | $26,000 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,840 | $23,400 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,065 | $24,500 |
| American Sign Language. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,692 | $26,000 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Master's Degree | $26,785 | $83,900 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,467 | $25,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,822 | $25,000 |
| Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,934 | $26,250 |
| Graphic Communications. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,857 | $20,000 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,894 | not reported |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,616 | $25,000 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,854 | $25,500 |
| Dance. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,411 | $27,000 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,356 | $27,000 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $18,502 | $25,625 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Columbia College Chicago by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?144281

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/columbia-college-chicago-il.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`