2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Journalism in Illinois (With Aid)

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Communication & Journalism is the 11th most popular major in the country with 121,387 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, communication and journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,549 and had an average of $24,893 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 4,627 communication and journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,616 and $26,576 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 37 communication and journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,900 and $148,219 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in communication and journalism. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality communication and journalism programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

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

More Ways to Rank Communication & 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 Communication & Journalism Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” 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. 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 Communication & Journalism Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.

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

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s communication and journalism degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Communication & Journalism Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UIUC Communication & Journalism Report

#2

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$27,036 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. UIC is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 1 doctorate’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIC, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at University of Illinois at Chicago

#3

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$32,928 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 10 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s communication and journalism students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism Doctor’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 Southern Illinois University Carbondale are $32,928.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Communication & Journalism Report

#4

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Northwestern

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Journalism in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & 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 Josh Hallett.

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