Best Film programs in Illinois, ranked by enrollment
Edit moving images on film, video, or other media. May work with a producer or director to organize images for final production.
21 schools in Illinois run programs that feed this job, graduating 919 people a year. The job pays a median of $72,460 in Illinois across about 310 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Illinois that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Illinois that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Illinois (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Illinois page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cinematography and Film/Video Productionmain feeder CIP 50.0602In Illinois → | 608 | 66.2% | 7 | $25,014 | $24,650 |
| 2 | CIP 09.0701In Illinois → | 287 | 31.2% | 15 | $29,112 | $23,836 |
| 3 | Documentary Productionmain feeder CIP 50.0607In Illinois → | 10 | 1.1% | 3 | $25,014 | $24,650 |
| 4 | CIP 10.0202In Illinois → | 8 | 0.9% | 2 | $21,634 | $20,000 |
| 5 | CIP 09.0404In Illinois → | 6 | 0.7% | 1 | $34,515 | $24,250 |
Top 21 schools in Illinois
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 21 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 330 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | $26,164 | 68% | $28,141 | 76% |
| 2 | Columbia College Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 279 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | $23,905 | 52% | $28,087 | 89% |
| 3 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 95 | Radio and Television | $24,611 | 95% | $14,799 | 8% |
| 4 | Illinois Media School - Chicago Campus Chicago, IL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Radio and Television | $18,740 | 61% | $25,472 | — |
| 5 | Illinois Media School Chicago, IL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Radio and Television | $18,740 | 80% | $30,188 | — |
| 6 | Southern Illinois University - Carbondale Carbondale, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 29 | Radio and Television | $25,057 | 62% | — | 87% |
| 7 | College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 18 | Radio and Television | — | 25% | — | — |
| 8 | Lake Land College Mattoon, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Radio and Television | — | 58% | — | — |
| 9 | Lewis and Clark Community College Godfrey, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Radio and Television | — | 44% | — | — |
| 10 | Chicago State University Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Radio and Television | $28,643 | 15% | — | 43% |
| 11 | Rock Valley College Rockford, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Radio and Television | — | 37% | — | — |
| 12 | Bradley University Peoria, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Radio and Television | $32,742 | 76% | $21,768 | 77% |
| 13 | City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy - King College Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Radio and Television | — | 31% | — | — |
| 14 | Southwestern Illinois College Belleville, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | — | 36% | — | — |
| 15 | Western Illinois University Macomb, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Radio and Television | $27,462 | 45% | — | 71% |
| 16 | Illinois Eastern Community Colleges Olney, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/Technician | — | 63% | — | — |
| 17 | Governors State University University Park, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | — | 22% | — | 48% |
| 18 | Lewis University Romeoville, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Radio and Television | — | 67% | $17,632 | 71% |
| 19 | Millikin University Decatur, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | — | 55% | $8,373 | 67% |
| 20 | Parkland College Champaign, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Radio and Television | — | 32% | — | — |
| 21 | College of Lake County Grayslake, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | — | 37% | — | — |
All 21 schools in Illinois
Every school in Illinois with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DePaul University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 330 | 2 |
| Columbia College Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 279 | 4 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston | Private not-for-profit | 95 | 2 |
| Illinois Media School - Chicago Campus | Chicago | Private for-profit | 37 | 1 |
| Illinois Media School | Chicago | Private for-profit | 29 | 1 |
| Southern Illinois University - Carbondale | Carbondale | Public | 29 | 2 |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | Public | 18 | 2 |
| Lake Land College | Mattoon | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Lewis and Clark Community College | Godfrey | Public | 13 | 1 |
| Chicago State University | Chicago | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Rock Valley College | Rockford | Public | 10 | 1 |
| Bradley University | Peoria | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 1 |
| City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy - King College | Chicago | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Southwestern Illinois College | Belleville | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Western Illinois University | Macomb | Public | 7 | 1 |
What film and video editors earn in Illinois
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $75,420. Illinois pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Illinois
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Film and Video Editors page.
How to become a Film
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Illinois
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 7 majors mapped to Film and Video Editors7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0404Photojournalism
- 09.0701Radio and Television
- 10.0105Communications Technology/Technician
- 10.0202Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/Technician
- 10.0299Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians, Other
- 50.0602Cinematography and Film/Video Production
- 50.0607Documentary Production
Common questions
Answers for people weighing film and video editors programs in Illinois.
What degree do you need to become a Film?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Cinematography and Film/Video Production, which awarded 608 degrees in Illinois in 2024-25, 66.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Film?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Film/Video and Photographic Arts, Radio, Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians, Journalism. Together they graduate about 919 people a year in Illinois.
How much do film and video editors earn in Illinois?+
The median is $72,460 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 3.9% below the U.S. median of $75,420. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for film and video editors growing?+
BLS projects a +4.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 3,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Illinois?+
21 institutions in Illinois reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do film and video editors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Editor, Film Editor, News Editor, Video Editor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-4032.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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