2022 Best Value Colleges for Journalism in Alabama (With Aid)

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Alabama, there were 236 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,000 and $23,014 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in journalism. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent journalism programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the journalism program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Journalism Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 in Alabama For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Getting Aid.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Journalism in Alabama (With Aid)

#1

The University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

#3 in overall quality

$22,597 Average Net Price

$44,897 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Alabama landed the #1 spot on the list. The University of Alabama is a public institution located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The school has a large population, and it awarded 109 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Alabama” list. It costs about $22,597 for Alabama Journalism students with aid per year to attend The University of Alabama.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read full report on Journalism at The University of Alabama

#2

Troy University

Troy, Alabama

#4 in overall quality

$14,285 Average Net Price

$37,149 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Troy University landed the #2 spot on the list. TROY is located in Troy, Alabama and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

TROY did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Alabama” list. The estimated yearly cost for Troy University is $14,285 for Alabama Journalism students with aid.

Read full report on Journalism at Troy University

#3

Auburn University

Auburn, Alabama

#2 in overall quality

$24,104 Average Net Price

$46,909 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Auburn University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Auburn, Alabama, and it awarded 53 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Auburn not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Alabama” list. The yearly cost to attend Auburn is $24,104 for alabama journalism students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Journalism at Auburn University

#4

Samford University

Birmingham, Alabama

#1 in overall quality

$29,673 Average Net Price

$57,458 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Samford University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Getting Aid list. Samford is located in Birmingham, Alabama and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 61 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

Samford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Alabama” list. The estimated yearly cost for Samford University is $29,673 for Alabama Journalism students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 2.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Journalism at Samford

• Best Value Colleges for Journalism in the Southeast Region (With Aid)
• Best Value 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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