2025 Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools in Illinois
9Colleges in Illinois
898Public Relations Degrees Awarded
$41,961Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in public relations & advertising is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #52 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
College Factual reviewed 9 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of public relations & advertising. Combined, these schools handed out 898 degrees in public relations & advertising to qualified students.
Learn how to use the latest technology and tactics to manage the flow of information between brands and the public with your Master's in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations at Southern New Hampshire University.
Keep your skills and knowledge at the forefront of new media technologies with this specialized online master's from Southern New Hampshire University.
Choosing a Great Public Relations & Advertising School
The public relations program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Relations & Advertising rankings. We derive our Best Overall Public Relations & Advertising School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Public Relations & Advertising Rankings by Degree Level
The public relations 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 the Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools in Illinois.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
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.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Learn how to use the latest technology and tactics to manage the flow of information between brands and the public with your Master's in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations at Southern New Hampshire University.
Keep your skills and knowledge at the forefront of new media technologies with this specialized online master's from Southern New Hampshire University.
Best Schools for Public Relations & Advertising in Illinois
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the public relations degree levels they offer.
Any student who is interested in public relations & advertising needs to look into Northwestern University. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were approximately 44 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Public Relations & Advertising degree recipients from Northwestern University earn a boost of around $40,460 above the typical income of public relations & advertising graduates.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in public relations & advertising. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 218 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public relations & advertising program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign make $7,154 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
DePaul University is a great option for students interested in a degree in public relations & advertising. DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.
There were approximately 193 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, public relations degree recipients typically make about $43,031 at the beginning of their careers.
Loyola University Chicago is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in public relations & advertising. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #100 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.
There were approximately 138 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the public relations program earn about $43,308 in their early career salary.
Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Peoria. This university ranks 19th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 65 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the public relations program state that they receive average early career earnings of $38,351.
Illinois State is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Normal. This university ranks 8th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 78 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the public relations program make an average of $43,874 for their early career.
Columbia is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the city of Chicago. This college ranks 9th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 28 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. After graduating, public relations degree recipients usually make around $39,794 at the beginning of their careers.
MA in Communication - Public RelationsProgram Name
Learn how to use the latest technology and tactics to manage the flow of information between brands and the public with your Master's in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations at Southern New Hampshire University.
Located in the remote town of Charleston, EIU is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 52nd out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 23 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at EIU in the most recent year we have data available.
Lewis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Romeoville. This university ranks 39th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 13 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Lewis in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the public relations program make an average of $24,202 in the first couple years of working.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).
Credit for the banner image above goes to Bill Koplitz.
The public relations program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Relations & Advertising rankings. We derive our Best Overall Public Relations & Advertising School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
