2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Journalism in Illinois
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 Master’s in Illinois” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2019-2020, 121,387 people earned their degree in communication and journalism, making the major the 11th most popular in the United States. 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 master’s degree level specifically, there were 729 communication and journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking, we looked at 12 colleges that offer 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.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the communication and journalism program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois.
Top 12 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Journalism in Illinois
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Illinois State University is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 23 masters’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree communication & journalism students list, Illinois State has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois State University are $11,069, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Full Illinois State University Communication & Journalism Report
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 31 masters’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Eastern Illinois University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Eastern Illinois University is a public institution located in Charleston, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 15 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
EIU also took the #7 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at EIU are $20,761, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read more about Communication & Journalism at Eastern Illinois University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Edwardsville, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s communication and journalism degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUE, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SIUE are $9,300, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is located in Carbondale, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 masters’s communication and journalism degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SIUC are $32,928, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
With a ranking of #6, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. WIU is a medium-sized school located in Macomb, Illinois that handed out 6 masters’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
WIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Master’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 Western Illinois University are $11,996.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Western Illinois University
Northern Illinois University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. NIU is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 8 masters’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
NIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northern Illinois University are $11,086, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Governors State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #8. University Park, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s communication and journalism degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.
GSU also took the #12 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism Master’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 Governors State University are $14,674.
Read more about Communication & Journalism at Governors State University
With a ranking of #9, DePaul University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 79 degrees to qualified masters’s communication and journalism students in 2019-2020.
DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Master’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 DePaul are $19,760.
University of Illinois at Springfield did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #10. University of Illinois at Springfield is located in Springfield, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 masters’s communication and journalism degrees to qualified students.
UIS also took the #11 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIS are $16,757, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at University of Illinois at Springfield
Loyola University Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #11. Loyola University Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 23 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree communication & journalism students list, Loyola Chicago has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola Chicago are $19,154, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Loyola University Chicago
Northwestern University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 485 masters’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read more about Communication & Journalism at Northwestern University
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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.
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- Credit for the banner image above goes to Josh Hallett.
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