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2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

9 Ranked Colleges
189 Degrees Awarded
$28,300 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master's in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” 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 the Great Lakes region, there were 1,983 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,873 and $26,636 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 189 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,039 and $42,488 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in journalism. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great journalism programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the journalism program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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.

Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region master’s degree journalism students with aid.

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Journalism in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Madison, Wisconsin, and it awarded 13 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree journalism students with aid list, UW - Madison has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wisconsin - Madison are $25,523, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UW - Madison Journalism Report

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 5 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #3. 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.

Read more about Journalism at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Springfield. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. University of Illinois at Springfield is a public institution located in Springfield, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 4 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIS did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Springfield are $16,757.

Read full report on Journalism at UIS

#4

Ball State University

Muncie, Indiana

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ball State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Muncie, Indiana, this large public school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified masters’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

Ball State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #0 on our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Ball State University are $26,204, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Ball State University Journalism Report

#5

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Northwestern is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 120 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Journalism at Northwestern University

#6

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan

Michigan State University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. This large school is located in East Lansing, Michigan, and it awarded 5 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Michigan State also made our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #4. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Michigan State are $37,056.

Full Michigan State University Journalism Report

With a ranking of #7, Kent State University at Kent did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Kent State is located in Kent, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 masters’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Kent State, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Kent State are $21,952, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Journalism at Kent State University at Kent

#6 in overall quality

Ohio University - Athens Campus landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Athens, Ohio, this large public school handed out 7 degrees to qualified masters’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

OHIO Athens did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at OHIO Athens are $17,712, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Journalism at Ohio University - Athens Campus

#9

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. DePaul is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 20 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full DePaul University Journalism Report

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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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