Rankings & Awards
Top 30 Film Schools 2022
- Variety MagazineOne of only 16 accredited colleges that offer BA degrees in ASL-English Interpretation.
Top 100 Best Fine Arts Graduate Program 2020
- US News & World Report- #1Top 20 Animation and Game Design Schools in the Midwest 2019 - Animation Career Review
- #1College for Aspiring Comedians 2019 - College Magazine
- #2Music School for Composing for Film and Television 2020 - the Hollywood Reporter
- #3College for Video Game Design 2020 - College Magazine
- #4Graphic Design Program in Illinois, Top 50 Nationally - Animation Career Review
- #4Animation School in the Midwest 2022 - Animation Career Review
- #8College for Playwriting 2017 - College Magazine
- #8Best Photography Schools in the U.S. 2022 - The Art Career Project
- #8Most Innovative School in the Midwest 2021 - US News & World Report
- #13Top 25 Graphic Design Schools in the Midwest - Animation Career Review
- #12Top American Film Schools 2021 - the Hollywood Reporter
- #17Best College Locations in America, 2020 - Niche.com
Alumni Awards
Aidy Bryant ’09
is a mainstay on Saturday Night Live and has been nominated for two Emmys for her work on the legendary show.
- Len Amato ’75 is the President of HBO Films and won a Primetime Emmy for Recount.
- David Cromer won a Tony Award for Best Direction of The Band’s Visit.
- Nick Drnaso ’11 is an American author and graphic novelist, best known for his books Beverly and Sabrina, the latter being the first graphic novel nominated for a Man Booker Prize in 2018.
- Mauro Fiore ‘87 won an Oscar for Best Achievement in Cinematography for Avatar.
- Tiffany Griffith ’92 won two Emmys for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series for her role as dialogue editor on Stranger Things.
- Heather Gross ’97 won a Prime Time Emmy for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited Series, Movie or Special for her work as foley editor on the HBO series The Night Of.
- Tonika Johnson ’03 was named 2017 Chicagoan of the Year for her social justice work through photography.
- Janusz Kaminski ’87 is a cinematographer who won an Oscar for Shindler’s List and Amistad.
- Beth Morgan ’02 has been nominated twice for an Emmy for Outstanding Costume Design on GLOW and HBO’s Deadwood.
- Iliana Regan ’05 is writer and chef. In 2019 she received a National Book Award for her memoir, Burn the Place. Her restaurant, Elizabeth, was ranked #6 in Chicago’s Top 50 restaurants by Chicago Tribune.
Lena Waithe ’06
won an Emmy for Comedy Writing for a Television Series for Master of None, becoming the first African American woman to win the award. Time named her among the 100 most influential people of 2018
Faculty Awards
