College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2025 Best Speech Communication Schools in Illinois

16 Colleges in Illinois
757 Speech Communication Degrees Awarded
If you pursue a degree in speech communication, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #18 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 16 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Speech Communication Schools in Illinois ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 757 degrees in speech communication to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Speech Communication School

Best Speech Communication Schools in Illinois Your choice of speech communication school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Speech Communication School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Speech Communication Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Speech Communication
Master's Degrees in Speech Communication
Doctor's Degrees in Speech Communication

The speech communication school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Speech Communication Schools in Illinois. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Speech Communication in Illinois

The schools below may not offer all types of speech communication degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Illinois Schools in Speech Communication

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL
93 Speech Communication Degrees Awarded

Northwestern University is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in speech communication. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were about 93 speech communication students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in speech communication from Northwestern University

2
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In IL
33 Speech Communication Degrees Awarded

DePaul University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in speech communication. Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.

There were approximately 33 speech communication students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in speech communication from DePaul University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IL
113 Speech Communication Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in speech communication needs to check out Illinois State University. Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #210 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 113 speech communication students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in speech communication from Illinois State University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In IL
57 Speech Communication Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in speech communication needs to look into Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 31st out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 57 speech communication students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in speech communication from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

5
Augustana crest
Augustana College
Rock Island, IL
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In IL
34 Speech Communication Degrees Awarded

Augustana is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Rock Island. This college ranks 21st out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 34 speech communication students who graduated with this degree at Augustana in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in speech communication from Augustana College

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL
118 Speech Communication Degrees Awarded

NIU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Dekalb. A Best Colleges rank of #529 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means NIU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 118 speech communication students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in speech communication from Northern Illinois University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In IL
35 Speech Communication Degrees Awarded

Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Wheaton. A Best Colleges rank of #407 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Wheaton College Illinois is a great college overall.

There were about 35 speech communication students who graduated with this degree at Wheaton College Illinois in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in speech communication from Wheaton College Illinois

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In IL
33 Speech Communication Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #100 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were approximately 33 speech communication students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in speech communication from Loyola University Chicago

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In IL

SIUC is a fairly large public university located in the distant town of Carbondale. This university ranks 36th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 27 speech communication students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in speech communication from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

10
Lake Forest crest
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, IL
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In IL
43.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Lake Forest, Lake Forest is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 33rd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 30 speech communication students who graduated with this degree at Lake Forest in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in speech communication from Lake Forest College

Best Speech Communication Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Speech Communication Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Ohio 939 1,623
Michigan 915 911
Indiana 737 804
Wisconsin 672 713

View All Rankings >

Speech Communication is one of 3 different types of Communication & Media Studies programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Speech Communication

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communications 581
Communication & Media Studies 337
Other Communication & Media Studies 82

View All Speech Communication Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options