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2025 Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

37 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
2,485 Bachelor's Degrees
$40,853 Avg Early-Career Salary
Public Relations & Advertising is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #32 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 37 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for public relations & advertising students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 2,485 bachelor's degrees in public relations & advertising to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Public Relations & Advertising School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of public relations & advertising for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for public relations & advertising students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Public Relations Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Public Relations & Advertising in the Great Lakes Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Public Relations

1
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
444 Annual Graduates
$45,158 Median Starting Salary
$47,071 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat Michigan State University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population.

Public Relations & Advertising bachelor's degree recipients from Michigan State University receive an earnings boost of approximately $4,305 above the average income of public relations & advertising graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Michigan State University

2
191 Annual Graduates
$48,063 Median Starting Salary
$41,737 Median Student Debt

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a good option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population.

Public Relations & Advertising bachelor's degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign get an earnings boost of around $7,210 over the typical earnings of public relations & advertising majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
147 Annual Graduates
$41,234 Median Starting Salary
$50,715 Median Student Debt

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising has to take a look at DePaul University. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the public relations program state that they receive average early career earnings of $41,234.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from DePaul University

4
Marquette crest
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI
91 Annual Graduates
$40,583 Median Starting Salary
$51,864 Median Student Debt

Marquette University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising. Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the public relations program earn about $40,583 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Marquette University

5
151 Annual Graduates
$50,700 Median Starting Salary
$63,000 Median Student Debt

Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public university located in the fringe town of Oxford.

Those public relations & advertising students who get their bachelor's degree from Miami University - Oxford make $9,847 more than the average public relations grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Miami University - Oxford

6
Butler crest
Butler University
Indianapolis, IN
79 Annual Graduates
$39,701 Median Starting Salary
$51,635 Median Student Debt

Butler is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Indianapolis.

After graduation, public relations bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $39,701 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Butler University

7
64 Annual Graduates
$38,020 Median Starting Salary
$20,250 Median Student Debt

Ball State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Muncie.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the public relations program report average early career wages of $38,020.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Ball State University

8
119 Annual Graduates
$43,308 Median Starting Salary
$67,057 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Public Relations & Advertising bachelor's degree recipients from Loyola University Chicago get an earnings boost of approximately $2,455 over the average earnings of public relations & advertising graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Loyola University Chicago

9
78 Annual Graduates
$37,718 Median Starting Salary
$24,275 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Kalamazoo, WMU is a public university with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the public relations program report average early career wages of $37,718.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Western Michigan University

10
52 Annual Graduates
$38,351 Median Starting Salary
$49,211 Median Student Debt

Located in the midsize city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Soon after graduating, public relations bachelor's recipients usually make about $38,351 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Bradley University

Best Public Relations & Advertising Colleges by State

Explore the best public relations & advertising colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 1,167
Ohio 252 576
Illinois 241 811
Indiana 235 287
Wisconsin 213 268

View All Rankings >

Public Relations & Advertising is one of 5 different types of Communication & Journalism programs to choose from.

Public Relations Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Advertising 833
Public Relations 420
Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication 356
Other Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication 338
Communication Management and Strategic Communications 210
General Organizational Communication 170
Sports Communication 98
Health Communication 52
Technical & Scientific Communication 7
Political Communication 1

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 6,366
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 1,602
Journalism 1,313
Communication & Journalism (Other) 72
Publishing 1

Notes and References

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