2025 Best Journalism Schools in Illinois
10
Colleges in Illinois
316
Journalism Degrees Awarded
$36,123
Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in
journalism is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #69 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 10 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Journalism Schools in Illinois ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 316 degrees in journalism to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Journalism School
Your choice of journalism school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall 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.
Journalism Rankings by Degree Level
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 Journalism Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
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.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Read more about College Factual's methodology.
Best Schools for Journalism in Illinois
The schools below may not offer all types of journalism degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.
10 Top Illinois Schools in Journalism
Every student pursuing a degree in journalism has to look into University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 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 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were about 70 journalism students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, journalism degree recipients generally earn around $36,303 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in journalism from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Any student pursuing a degree in journalism has to look into Augustana College. Augustana is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Rock Island. This college ranks 21st out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 17 journalism students who graduated with this degree at Augustana in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in journalism from Augustana College
Every student who is interested in journalism needs to check out DePaul University. 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 schools nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.
There were about 55 journalism students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, journalism degree recipients typically earn around $35,862 in their early careers.
More information about a degree in journalism from DePaul University
Any student who is interested in journalism has to take a look at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. 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 roughly 15 journalism students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent data year. Those journalism students who get their degree from Southern Illinois University Carbondale earn $4,452 more than the standard journalism graduate.
More information about a degree in journalism from Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #212 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great college overall.
There were roughly 25 journalism students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the journalism program make around $31,369 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in journalism from Columbia College Chicago
Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #210 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 32 journalism students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, journalism degree recipients usually earn about $36,643 in their early careers.
More information about a degree in journalism from Illinois State University
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 roughly 29 journalism students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the journalism degree program at Loyola University Chicago get $2,179 more than the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in journalism from Loyola University Chicago
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
11th
Most Popular In IL
Located in the city of Naperville, North Central is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 32nd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 4 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 journalism from North Central College
NIU is a large public university located in the small suburb of Dekalb. This university ranks 20th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 19 journalism students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, journalism degree recipients typically earn around $31,753 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in journalism from Northern Illinois University
EIU is a moderately-sized public university located in the remote town of Charleston. This university ranks 52nd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 12 journalism students who graduated with this degree at EIU in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in journalism from Eastern Illinois University
