Fast Facts

Columbia College Chicago is the largest arts and media college in the nation with more than 12,500 undergraduate and graduate students.

Tuition & Value

• Columbia's tuition - $18,940 for '08-'09 - is among the lowest of all private arts and media colleges in the nation.
• Columbia has more than 70,000 alumni, making our "network" among the largest of any arts and media college in the world.

Academics

• More than 90 academic majors or programs -- broader and more comprehensive offerings than any other private arts and media college in the nation
• Emphasis on the body of work: student develop portfolios over the course of study
• Average class size: 17

Students

• 11,858 undergraduates and 606 graduate students come from 50 states and 41 foreign nations.
• Diversity: 30 percent are African American, Latino, Native American, or Pacific Islander
• More about who studies at Columbia...

Student Life

• Nearly 2,717 students live in five residence halls, making Columbia among the 10 largest private residential colleges in Illinois.
• Residential options include a super-residence housing students from three colleges, apartment-style living, and more.
• More than 50 student organizations -- from the Columbia Gospel Choir to the Paintball Club -- express the diversity, interests, and energy of our students.
• We actually do have sports. Columbia's intramural baseball team won the '03 - '04 interconference championship against such competitors as DePaul University and Northwestern.
• We do it, watch it, support it, applaud it: hundreds of events crowd the Columbia calendar each year -- including student performances and gallery showings, faculty and guest lectures, readings, and performances.

History & Mission

• Founded in 1890 as a college of elocution, Columbia was granted full accreditation as a four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts school in 1974. More about our history...
• The mission of the college is to educate students who will communicate creatively and shape the public's perceptions of issues and events. More about the mission...