2024 Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Journalism in Illinois
10
Colleges
212,160
Bachelor's Degrees
$29,831
Avg Cost*
Finding the Best Value Journalism School for You
Journalism is the #54 most popular major in Illinois with 212,160 bachelor's degrees awarded in 2021-2022. This means that 3.9% of the degrees earned in the country were from a school in the state.
For this year's Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Journalism in Illinois ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a bachelor's in journalism. Note that the phrase 'best value' does not mean the absolute lowest-priced. We are more focused on journalism schools that offer a high quality education at a price lower that other schools of similar academic excellence.
Average cost figures start with estimating tuition, fees, room and board, books, and other related expenses. We then subtract the average amount of financial aid that a student receives. You can use this as a gauge to estimate how much you may need to pay out of pocket to cover costs when financial aid isn't enough. Keep in mind that the net cost for you may be higher or lower, depending on your income and other factors.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Value Journalism Schools list to help you make the college decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
2024 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois
Check out the journalism programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your money.
Top 10 Best Value Journalism Schools
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot in our 2024 rankings for best value journalism schools. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population. UIUC also took the #1 spot in our Best Journalism Schools in Illinois rankings.
The average student at UIUC graduates in less than 4.2 years, and it costs about $33,662 per year to attend the school. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from UIUC be around $141,717. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
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Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #2 spot in our 2024 rankings for best value journalism schools. SIUC is a large public school located in the small city of Carbondale. As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #3 rank in our Best Journalism Schools in Illinois ranking.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at SIUC is 4.4 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $18,799. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from SIUC is $82,716. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
Full Journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report
Illinois State University comes in at #3 in this year's ranking. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal. In addition to being on our best value list, Illinois State has also earned the #8 rank in our Best Journalism Schools in Illinois ranking.
It takes the average student at Illinois State about 4.3 years to graduate, and the average full-time cost to attend the school is around $26,419. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State be around $114,130. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
Full Journalism at Illinois State University Report
The #4 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Northern Illinois University. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb. NIU also took the #9 spot in our Best Journalism Schools in Illinois rankings.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at NIU is 4.6 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $20,624. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from NIU is about $94,870. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
Full Journalism at Northern Illinois University Report
The #5 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Eastern Illinois University. Located in the town of Charleston, EIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
It takes the average student at EIU about 4.4 years to graduate, and the average full-time cost to attend the school is around $17,168. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the EIU is $74,681. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
Read full report on Journalism at Eastern Illinois University
Columbia College Chicago comes in at #6 in this year's ranking. Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population. Columbia also made our Best Journalism Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #5.
It takes the average student at Columbia about 4.2 years to graduate, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $38,202. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from Columbia is about $159,302. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
Read full report on Journalism at Columbia College Chicago
The #7 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Bradley University. Located in the midsize city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. In addition to being on our best value list, Bradley has also earned the #7 rank in our Best Journalism Schools in Illinois ranking.
At Bradley, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.2 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $31,055. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the Bradley is $131,673. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
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DePaul University earned the #8 spot in our 2024 rankings. Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population. DePaul also made our Best Journalism Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #4.
The average student at DePaul graduates in less than 4.2 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $39,818. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from DePaul is about $167,634. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
Read full report on Journalism at DePaul University
Augustana College landed the #9 spot in our 2024 rankings for best value journalism schools. Augustana is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Rock Island. Augustana also took the #6 spot in our Best Journalism Schools in Illinois rankings.
At Augustana, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.1 years, and the average full-time cost to attend the school is around $30,141. This means that the average student pays around $122,674 to get a bachelor’s degree from Augustana. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
Full Journalism at Augustana College Report
Loyola University Chicago landed the #10 spot in our 2024 rankings for best value journalism schools. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population. Loyola Chicago also took the #2 spot in our Best Journalism Schools in Illinois rankings.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at Loyola Chicago is 4.1 years, and it costs about $42,422 per year to attend the school. This means that the average student pays around $175,203 to get a bachelor’s degree from Loyola Chicago. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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