Bachelor's · Chicago, Illinois
Is Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies at Columbia College Chicago worth it?
Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 19.9 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- Not enough graduates to report
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $48,016
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- Not enough borrowers to report
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $155k (likely $155k – $192k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $9k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in IL
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 19.9 years (likely 9.7–20+)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- −$274k (likely −$387k – −$149k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- −$157k (likely −$363k – $102k)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 47%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Change income, residency or loans Compare Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies at other schools
🌍 Getting ready in high school
Students heading toward languages & cultures majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.
AP classes
- AP Spanish Language and Culture (or French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Latin)
- AP World History: Modern
- AP Human Geography
IB Higher Level
- Language B HL
- History HL or Geography HL
Build my roadmap 🗺️ Middle school to career, plus high schools near you that offer these classes.
Other majors at Columbia College Chicago
- Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's)$66,798
- Marketing (Bachelor's)$65,686
- Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management (Master's)$60,136
- Movement and Mind-Body Therapies and Education (Master's)$59,340
- Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's)$57,240
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's)$56,482
- Radio, Television, and Digital Communication (Bachelor's)$54,357
- Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Master's)$53,147
- Journalism (Bachelor's)$51,639
- Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management (Bachelor's)$50,592
- Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's)$49,593
- Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's)$48,601
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies at other schools in Illinois
- Northwestern University$59,372
- DePaul University$59,016
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign$50,941
- University of Illinois Chicago$45,253
- Aurora University$44,786