Rankings & Awards
Top Film School 2024
- Variety MagazineOne of only 15 accredited colleges that offer BA degrees in ASL-English Interpretation
Top 100 Best Fine Arts Graduate Program 2020
- US News & World Report- #1The World’s Best Music Schools 2023 - The Hollywood Reporter
- #1Illustration School in Illinois 2023 - Animation Career Review
- #1College for Aspiring Comedians 2023 - College Magazine
- #2Visual Effects (VFX) School In the Midwest 2023 - Animation Career Review
- #3College for Video Game Design 2020 - College Magazine
- #4Animation School in the Midwest 2024 - Animation Career Review
- #7Best Game Design Schools in the Midwest 2023 - Animation Career Review
- #8Best Photography Schools in the U.S. 2022 - The Art Career Project
- #8Most Innovative School in the Midwest 2021 - US News & World Report
- #14Top U.S. Film Schools 2024 - The Hollywood Reporter
- #17Top 50 Film Schools for 2023 - TheWrap.com
Alumni Awards
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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.
- Christian Sprenger '07 won an Emmy in 2018 for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour) for his work on Atlanta.
- 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.
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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
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