Journalism at Northwestern University

Journalism at Northwestern University

The Journalism major is part of the communication & journalism program at Northwestern University.

Here, you'll find out more about the major, including such details as the number of graduates, what degree levels are offered, ethnicity of students, average salaries, and more. We've also included details on how Northwestern ranks compared to other colleges offering a major in journalism.

Go directly to any of the following sections:

Journalism Degrees Available at Northwestern

Northwestern Journalism Rankings

Ranked at #2 in College Factual's most recent rankings, Northwestern is in the top 1% of the country for journalism students pursuing a bachelor's degree. It is also ranked #1 in Illinois.

Ranking Type Rank
Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools 1
Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools 2
Most Popular Master’s Degree Colleges for Journalism 2
Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Journalism 3
Most Popular Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism 14
Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Journalism 56
Most Focused Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism 60
Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism 229

Popularity of Journalism at Northwestern

During the 2019-2020 academic year, Northwestern University handed out 151 bachelor's degrees in journalism. Due to this, the school was ranked #4 in popularity out of all colleges and universities that offer this degree. This is a decrease of 15% over the previous year when 178 degrees were handed out.

In 2020, 139 students received their master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern. This makes it the #2 most popular school for journalism master’s degree candidates in the country.

How Much Do Journalism Graduates from Northwestern Make?

Salary of Journalism Graduates with a Bachelor's Degree

Journalism majors who earn their bachelor's degree from Northwestern go on to jobs where they make a median salary of $42,000 a year. This is great news for graduates of the program, since this figure is higher than the national average of $30,000 for all journalism bachelor's degree recipients.

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Salary of Journalism Graduates with a Master's Degree

Graduates of the master's journalism program at Northwestern make a median salary of $39,200. This is less than what their typical peers from other schools make. Their median salary is $42,650.

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How Much Student Debt Do Journalism Graduates from Northwestern Have?

Student Debt of Journalism Graduates with a Bachelor's Degree

While getting their bachelor's degree at Northwestern, journalism students borrow a median amount of $15,500 in student loans. This is not too bad considering that the median debt load of all journalism bachelor's degree recipients across the country is $23,488.

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The typical student loan payment of a bachelor's degree student from the journalism program at Northwestern is $161 per month.

Student Debt of Journalism Graduates with a Master's Degree

At Northwestern, a typical journalism student working on their master's degree borrrows about $52,232 in student loans. This is not favorable since the median amount of student debt for all journalism master's graduates is $40,266.

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Those master's students from Northwestern on a 10-year student debt repayment plan end up paying a median amount of $609 per month.

Northwestern Journalism Students

Take a look at the following statistics related to the make-up of the journalism majors at Northwestern University.

Northwestern Journalism Bachelor’s Program

Of the 151 students who graduated with a Bachelor’s in journalism from Northwestern in 2020, 32% were men and 68% were women.

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The majority of the students with this major are white. About 55% of 2020 graduates were in this category.

The following table and chart show the ethnic background for students who recently graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor's in journalism.

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Ethnic Background Number of Students
Asian 18
Black or African American 7
Hispanic or Latino 23
White 83
Non-Resident Aliens 11
Other Races 9

Northwestern Journalism Master’s Program

For the most recent academic year available, 38% of journalism master's degrees went to men and 63% went to women.

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The following table and chart show the ethnic background for students who recently graduated from Northwestern University with a master's in journalism.

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Ethnic Background Number of Students
Asian 7
Black or African American 8
Hispanic or Latino 9
White 56
Non-Resident Aliens 33
Other Races 7

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Journalism (Other) 191
Communication & Media Studies 187
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 149
Public Relations & Advertising 50

View All Journalism Related Majors >

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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