2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Journalism in Illinois (With Aid)

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 14,528 people earned their degree in journalism, making the major the 62nd most popular in the United States. 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 Getting Aid” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in journalism. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality journalism programs that also have a lower cost than 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Journalism Schools

The journalism 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 “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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 Illinois For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Journalism in Illinois (With Aid)

#1

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 #1 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 5 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Journalism Report

#2

University of Illinois at Springfield

Springfield, Illinois

$16,757 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Springfield. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Springfield, Illinois, this small public school awarded 4 degrees to qualified masters’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIS, the school also landed the #0 spot in our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. 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 University of Illinois at Springfield

#3

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 #3 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 120 degrees to qualified masters’s journalism students 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 Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567.

Full Northwestern 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 be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 20 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

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 University are $19,760, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Journalism at DePaul University

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

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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