From studio to street, Columbia’s Photography program prepares students to capture powerful images and launch careers with professional portfolios, industry connections, and real-world experience.
Creative careers start here. From painting and sculpture to illustration, photography, and digital media, you’ll learn to think like an artist and problem-solve like a creative professional. As a student in the School of Visual Arts, you’ll explore diverse paths such as painting, sculpture, illustration, digital media, photography, printmaking, and performance and time-based art. Career opportunities abound in creative industries, museums, galleries, editorial work, and beyond. Our interdisciplinary coursework blends fine and commercial arts with liberal arts, connecting you to Chicago’s vibrant arts scene. You’ll work across traditional and digital techniques, engage with history and theory, and build business skills to succeed as a freelance or commissioned professional. With professional-quality studios and exhibition spaces, you’ll graduate with the technical expertise and artistic voice to make your mark.
CAREER READINESS
MAJORS
From connecting you to internships to helping you develop door-opening bodies of work to making an important professional connection, Columbia helps students launch their careers.
Fine Arts (BFA)
CAREER EXAMPLES
Visual Arts (BA)
Gallery/Exhibition Manager
96%
Illustrator Painter/Sculptor
Illustration (BFA) Photography (BFA)
POPULAR MINORS Art History
Photographer Printmaker Visual/Digital Designer
of our graduates report being employed or achieving success in creative practice.*
Craft Fine Arts Illustration Photography
ALUM SPOTLIGHT Rashid Johnson ’00 Internationally acclaimed artist whose “Anxious Men” series and multimedia work have been shown at institutions like the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Whitney Museum, and the Guggenheim. Sam Kirk ’05 Chicago-born visual artist and muralist known for striking public work exploring race, identity, and community, with high-profile commissions in Pilsen and beyond.
LEARN MORE
colum.edu/visualarts *Rates are based on institutional surveys. Learn more: colum.edu/effectiveness
Makerspace
Printmaking Spaces
Photography Studios
Fabrication Lab
The School of Visual Arts provides professional-quality studios, darkrooms, digital labs, and printmaking spaces tailored to fine and commercial art practices. Students engage in painting, sculpture, illustration, photography, and multimedia projects with access to exhibition galleries and collaborative critiques. These facilities foster experimentation, interdisciplinary work, and real-world presentations, helping you develop both artistic refinement and professional readiness.
Questions? Contact Admissions: 312-369-7130 | admissions@colum.edu colum.edu/admissions
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FACILITIES