College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2025 Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

5 Colleges in Illinois
135 Master's Degrees
$55,551 Avg Early-Career Salary
Communication & Media Studies is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #44 most popular master's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual looked at 5 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 135 master's degrees in communication & media studies during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School for Your Master's Degree

Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in Illinois Your choice of communication & media studies for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for communication & media studies students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Communications Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Communication & Media Studies in Illinois

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in communication & media studies.

Top Illinois Schools for a Master's in Communications

1
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in communication & media studies needs to take a look at DePaul University. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.

Students who graduate with their master's from the communications program state that they receive average early career income of $46,389.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from DePaul University

2
17 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in communication & media studies has to check out Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. SIUE is a large public university located in the suburb of Edwardsville.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

3
20 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Loyola University Chicago if you want to pursue a master's degree in communication & media studies. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Loyola University Chicago

4

It's difficult to beat Illinois State University if you want to pursue a master's degree in communication & media studies. Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Students who graduate with their master's from the communications program state that they receive average early career earnings of $45,215.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Illinois State University

5

Located in the town of Charleston, EIU is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Soon after graduation, communications master's recipients typically make an average of $43,587 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Eastern Illinois University

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 211 123
Ohio 207 76
Indiana 191 239
Wisconsin 173 40

View All Rankings >

One of 5 majors within the Communication & Journalism area of study, Communication & Media Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Communications Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Speech Communication 64
Communications 35
Other Communication & Media Studies 28
Communication & Media Studies 8

Related Major Annual Graduates
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 484
Public Relations & Advertising 77
Journalism 29

Notes and References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options