Outcomes-based program rankings.
Program outcomes at Columbia College Chicago vary significantly by field of study. These rankings evaluate each program by post-graduation earnings, debt burden, and return on investment — not prestige or reputation.
Use this analysis to compare programs and understand which fields deliver the strongest outcomes.
Analyzing 17 programs with available earnings data.
recent graduates
This bar shows the range of median earnings across all majors at this school.
The tables below compare programs in each category by earnings, rank, debt, and cohort size.
These sections represent the complete set of ranked undergraduate programs at Columbia College Chicago.
Marketing. leads business & economics with 66K in median earnings.
| Program | National Rank | Median Earnings | Median Debt | Cohort Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing. | — | $65,686 | $35,233 | 33 |
Program rankings are derived entirely from post-graduation outcomes. We do not use reputation surveys, selectivity metrics, or SAT scores. This means some programs may rank differently than you'd expect based on prestige — and that's intentional.
Median earnings 10 years post-enrollment
Debt burden relative to earnings
Institutional contribution to outcomes
Resources, cohort size, and graduation rates
Trajectory from early to mid-career
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. leads communications with 67K in median earnings.
| Program | National Rank | Median Earnings | Median Debt | Cohort Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | — | $66,798★ | $44,217 | 28 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | — | $54,357 | $57,000 | 54 |
| Journalism. | — | $51,639 | $41,653 | 25 |
| Graphic Communications. | — | $43,970 | $39,404 | 209 |
| Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians. | — | $43,731 | $48,580 | 44 |
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management. leads humanities & arts with 51K in median earnings.
| Program | National Rank | Median Earnings | Median Debt | Cohort Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management. | — | $50,592★ | $70,397 | 87 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | — | $48,601 | $41,085 | 239 |
| American Sign Language. | — | $45,619 | — | 23 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | — | $42,176 | — | 35 |
| Dance.Small sample | — | $41,842 | $41,677 | 19 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | — | $41,200 | $62,975 | 176 |
| Music. | — | $40,734 | $51,329 | 46 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | — | $39,986 | $58,426 | 144 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | — | $39,751 | $51,631 | 40 |
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. leads other & interdisciplinary with 50K in median earnings.
| Program | National Rank | Median Earnings | Median Debt | Cohort Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other.Small sample | — | $49,593★ | — | 11 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies.Small sample | — | $44,703 | — | 5 |
Why rankings may differ by program: A university's nursing program and business program can have entirely different outcome profiles. Our methodology surfaces these differences so you can evaluate programs — not just institutions.
