2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Journalism is the 62nd most popular major in the country with 14,528 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,042 and had an average of $24,628 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 627 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,000 and $27,965 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 153 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in journalism. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great journalism programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the journalism program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree journalism students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$44,571 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 120 masters’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Northwestern Journalism Report

#2

University of Illinois at Springfield

Springfield, Illinois

$16,757 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Springfield landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Springfield, Illinois, this small public school handed out 4 degrees to qualified masters’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

UIS did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #0 on our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UIS are $16,757.

Read more about Journalism at University of Illinois at Springfield

#3

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 5 degrees to qualified masters’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UIUC Journalism Report

#4

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$37,568 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. DePaul University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 20 masters’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Journalism at DePaul University

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $75-$110k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $75-$110k)

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Jfurrer.

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