2025 Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois
10
Colleges in Illinois
308
Journalism Degrees Awarded
General Journalism is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #69 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 10 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for general journalism students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 308 degrees in general journalism annually.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great General Journalism School
The journalism program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for General Journalism rankings. For our Best Overall General Journalism School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Pick Your General Journalism Degree Level
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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 General Journalism in Illinois
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the journalism degree levels they offer.
10 Top Illinois Schools in Journalism
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In IL
70
Journalism Degrees Awarded
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a good choice for students interested in a degree in general journalism. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 70 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in general journalism from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
It's hard to beat Augustana College if you wish to pursue a degree in general journalism. 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 roughly 17 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at Augustana in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in general journalism from Augustana College
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In IL
55
Journalism Degrees Awarded
DePaul University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in general journalism. Located in the large 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 55 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in general journalism from DePaul University
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
6th
Most Popular In IL
It's hard to beat Southern Illinois University Carbondale if you want to pursue a degree in general journalism. SIUC is a large public university located in the distant town of Carbondale. This university ranks 36th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 15 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in general journalism from Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
4th
Most Popular In IL
Located in the city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #212 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great college overall.
There were roughly 20 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in general journalism from Columbia College Chicago
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
5th
Most Popular In IL
32
Journalism Degrees Awarded
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 about 32 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in general journalism from Illinois State University
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
3rd
Most Popular In IL
Located in the large 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 about 29 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in general journalism from Loyola University Chicago
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
11th
Most Popular In IL
Located in the medium-sized city of Naperville, North Central is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 32nd out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 4 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at North Central in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in general journalism from North Central College
NIU is a large public university located in the suburb of Dekalb. This university ranks 20th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 19 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in general journalism from Northern Illinois University
EIU is a medium-sized public university located in the town of Charleston. This university ranks 52nd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 12 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at EIU in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in general journalism from Eastern Illinois University
