Academic Index Last updated: June 23, 2026

11 Best Universities in Illinois for Photography

If you are looking to study Photography in Illinois, our index highlights the top 11 domain-leading institutions. To determine these leaders, we isolated 1.17M specialized research publications which collectively generated 48.23M citations. This targeted approach bypasses general university reputation, directly revealing the strongest programs.

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1

Evanston

Northwestern University

For Photography

#13 in United States #15 in North America

8% Acceptance

9,399 Enrollment

1540 Avg SAT

1851 Founded

2

Chicago

University of Chicago

For Photography

#21 in United States #23 in North America

4% Acceptance

7,598 Enrollment

1545 Avg SAT

1891 Founded

3

Champaign

University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign

For Photography

#50 in United States #56 in North America

42% Acceptance

37,140 Enrollment

1415 Avg SAT

1867 Founded

4

Chicago

University of Illinois at Chicago

For Photography

#52 in United States #58 in North America

77% Acceptance

22,495 Enrollment

1240 Avg SAT

1858 Founded

5

DeKalb

Northern Illinois University

For Photography

#90 in United States #106 in North America

70% Acceptance

16,744 Enrollment

1125 Avg SAT

1895 Founded

6

Chicago

Illinois Institute of Technology

For Photography

#119 in United States #141 in North America

55% Acceptance

3,135 Enrollment

1310 Avg SAT

1890 Founded

7

Chicago

DePaul University

For Photography

#186 in United States #220 in North America

76% Acceptance

5,734 Enrollment

1235 Avg SAT

1898 Founded

8

Chicago

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

For Photography

#233 in United States #270 in North America

77% Acceptance

15,414 Enrollment

1508 Avg SAT

1866 Founded

9

Wheaton

Wheaton College – Illinois

For Photography

#123 in United States #146 in North America

87% Acceptance

2,150 Enrollment

1365 Avg SAT

1860 Founded

10

Normal, IL

Illinois State University

For Photography

#124 in United States #148 in North America

88% Acceptance

6,332 Enrollment

1100 Avg SAT

1857 Founded

11

Carbondale

Southern Illinois University – Carbondale

For Photography

#115 in United States #137 in North America

87% Acceptance

2,708 Enrollment

1030 Avg SAT

1869 Founded