Columbia College Chicago

About Columbia College Chicago

Columbia College Chicago is the largest and most diverse private non-profit arts and media college in the nation. We offer a four-year liberal arts education specifically tailored for a community of gifted, highly motivated students who want to turn their creative talents into rewarding careers. Our student body is comprised of approximately 11,200 students who come from all 50 states and more than 40 foreign countries. The College admits students after a holistic review of their entire application--not just their test scores or class rank--and then provides them with the rigorous academics and unparalleled resources necessary to be successful in a highly competitive 21st century marketplace.

Columbia is an eclectic, urban environment located in the city's historic South Loop neighborhood. Close by are several other colleges and universities, Navy Pier, the Adler Planetarium, the Art Institute, the Field Museum, the Chicago Symphony, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Harold Washington Library, and the Goodman Theatre. Convenient public transportation allows Columbia's faculty and students to utilize the whole city as a social, cultural, educational, and professional resource, effectively turning the entire city into our campus.

Academic Life

We offer Bachelor's degrees in more than 120 programs of study in the arts, media, and communications. Our curriculum is designed to provide students with practical, real-world understandings of their chosen fields and to prepare them to meet modern professional expectations. Columbia's faculty members are industry insiders (artists, designers, executives, writers, filmmakers, marketers, journalists, musicians, entrepreneurs, dancers) with national reputations. They are experienced, award-winning instructors who are able to share their first-hand knowledge with our students both in and out of the classroom. Working with this faculty of professionals provides our students with access to valuable expertise, insight, viewpoints, and industry-current aesthetics.

Campus Life

The College hosts close to 700 on-campus events each year and when students aren't showing at campus galleries, publishing in our award-winning newspaper, performing on stage, attending screenings, freestyling at poetry slams, producing shows for our television and radio stations, or taking an active role in the college's 85+ social and academic clubs and organizations, they are interacting with the larger Chicago community around them.

In addition to annual events like 24-Hour Night (Columbia's Halloween celebration) and the Crawl (a campus-wide arts crawl that happens every Fall), each Spring Columbia invites the entire city to it's campus for Manifest, an urban arts festival that celebrates all the creativity, dedication, and talent found on Columbia's campus.

Financial Aid

The College's Student Financial Services office is available to assist all students in researching and understanding the best ways to find and use scholarships, grants, and loans. For comprehensive information about creating a financial plan to pay for college and to learn more about scholarships, please visit the department's website: http://www.colum.edu/Student_Financial_Services/.

• Business/marketing
• Business Administration and Management
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Marketing/Marketing Management
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Communication technologies
• Recording Arts Technology
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Communication/Journalism
• Journalism
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Broadcast Journalism
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Radio and Television
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Public Relations/Image Management
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Advertising
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Computer and information sciences
• Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services Related
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Education
• Kindergarten/Preschool Education
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Early Childhood Education
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Education (Specific Levels and Methods) Related
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Education (Specific Subject Areas) Related
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• English
• Creative Writing
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Foreign languages and literature
• Sign Language Interpretation and Translation
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Health professions and related sciences
• Dance Therapy
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Interdisciplinary studies
• Interdisciplinary Studies
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies Related
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Liberal arts/general studies
• Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Visual and performing arts
• Dance
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Design and Visual Communications
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Commercial and Advertising Art
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Industrial and Product Design
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Fashion/Apparel Design
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Interior Design
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Dramatic/Theater Arts
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Theater Design and Technology
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Playwriting and Screenwriting
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Acting
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Film/Cinema/Video Studies
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Cinematography and Film/Video Production
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Photography
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Art
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Fine/Studio Arts
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Intermedia/Multimedia
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Music
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Music Performance
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Fine and Studio Arts Management
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.
• Music Management
  Bachelor's Degree offered for this major.

• Acceptance Rate
• Applied7,132
• Accepted5,973
• Acceptance Rate83%
• Enrolled11,138
• Female Applicants4,252
• Females Accepted3,632
• Female Acceptance Rate85%
• Male Applicants2,880
• Males Accepted2,341
• Male Acceptance Rate81%
• Applying
• Application Fee$35
• Required for All Essay or personal statement
  Transcript of high school record
  Letter(s) of recommendation
  
• Required for Some
• Average high school GPA for first-year freshman2.98
• Application Deadlines
• Type Application Closing Notification Date Rolling Admissions
• Fall freshmen Yes
• Out-of-state Fall freshmen Yes
• Early decision plan Not Reported
• Other early decision plan Not Reported
• Transfer Yes
• Test Scores Accepted
• Test Average School Accepted 25th Percentile* 75th Percentile*
• SAT Critical Reading 524 460 600
• SAT Math 489 440 560
• SAT Writing 512 430 570
• ACT Composite 22 18 24
• * 25th and 75th percentile is the score that 25/75 percent of students score at or below.

• Tuition
• In-state tuition *$20,094
• Out-of-state tuition *$20,094
• In-district tuitionN/A
• * Tuition costs are based on a full academic year typically extending from September to June.
• Fees
• Full-time student fees$550.00
• Room and board *$11,204.00
• Room only *Not Reported
• * Room and board charges vary according to board plan selected (i.e., 12-meal plan, 19-meal plan, etc.) and student level (freshman, sophomore, etc.)
• Other Payment Considerations
• Guaranteed tuition plan offeredNot Reported
• Tuition pre-payment planNot Reported
• Tuition payment plans offeredNot Reported
• Student groups that qualify for full or partial waiver of tuitionNot Reported

• Gender
• Total Undergraduate Students11,138
• Male Student Percentage47%
• Female Student Percentage53%
• Ethnicity
• Hispanic/Latino12.35%
• Black or African American17%
• White or Caucasian60.37%
• American Indian or Alaska Native.37%
• Asian2.36%
• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.31%
• Two or more races3.65%
• Unknown1.13%
• Other Student Statistics
• International Breakout1.46% representing 39 other countries
• Out-of-state Students36.4% out-of-state student

• Housing
• College-owned housing available Yes
• Housing Requirements Not Reported
• Housing options Coed housing
• Percentage of undergraduate students who live in college-owned housing 22%
• Student Activities
• Student-run campus newspaper Yes
• Drama / theater group Yes
• Student-run radio station Yes
• Student-run television station Yes
• Marching band No
• Choral groups Yes
• Student Services
• Legal services No
• Health clinic Yes
• Personal / psychological counseling Yes
• Women's center No
• Student Organizations
• Greek fraternities No
• Greek sororities No
• Local fraternities No
• Local sororities No
• Other organizations Not Reported
• Most popular organizations Columbia Urban Music Association, International Student Organization, Acianza Latina, Marketing Club
• Campus Security and Safety
• 24-hour emergency telephone / alarm services Yes
• 24-hour patrols by trained officers Yes
• Students patrols Not Reported
• Late-night transport / escort services Yes
• Electronically-operated dormitory entrances Yes
• Other escort upon request

• Faculty Breakout
• Total Faculty2,037
• Full-time Percentage19%
• Part-time Percentage81%
• Female Percentage47%
• Male Percentage53%
• Student:Faculty Ratio11:1 or 11,625 students to 2,037 faculty