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2025 Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

103 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
11,839 Bachelor's Degrees
$36,164 Avg Early-Career Salary
Communication & Journalism is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #8 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 103 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 11,839 bachelor's degrees in communication & journalism during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Communication & Journalism School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The communication & journalism bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

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.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

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

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for communication & journalism students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Communication & Journalism Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Communication & Journalism in the Great Lakes Region

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for communication & journalism students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

20 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Communication & Journalism

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
329 Annual Graduates

Northwestern University is a wonderful decision for students interested in a bachelor's degree in communication & journalism. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
209 Annual Graduates

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a wonderful decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in communication & journalism. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

3
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
908 Annual Graduates

Michigan State University is a good decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in communication & journalism. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Michigan State University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
534 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in communication & journalism has to look into University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
525 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Wisconsin - Madison

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
507 Annual Graduates

IU Bloomington is a very large public university located in the city of Bloomington.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Indiana University - Bloomington

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
537 Annual Graduates

Ohio State is a very large public university located in the city of Columbus.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Ohio State University - Main Campus

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
122 Annual Graduates

Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the city of West Lafayette.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Purdue University - Main Campus

9
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
313 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from DePaul University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
352 Annual Graduates

OHIO Athens is a fairly large public university located in the distant town of Athens.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Ohio University - Athens Campus

11
Marquette crest
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
149 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Marquette University

12
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
353 Annual Graduates

Ball State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Muncie.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Ball State University

13
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
329 Annual Graduates

Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public university located in the town of Oxford.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Miami University - Oxford

14
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
123 Annual Graduates

UDayton is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Dayton.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Dayton

15
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
304 Annual Graduates

UC is a very large public university located in the large city of Cincinnati.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

16
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
182 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Milwaukee, UWM is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

17
Butler crest
Butler University
Indianapolis, IN
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
102 Annual Graduates

Butler is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Indianapolis.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Butler University

18
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
265 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Illinois State University

19
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
294 Annual Graduates

Kent State is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Kent.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Kent State University at Kent

20
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
117 Annual Graduates

UW - Whitewater is a fairly large public university located in the town of Whitewater.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

Rest of the Top Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Communication & Journalism students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
21 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL
22 DePauw University Greencastle, IN
23 Denison University Granville, OH
24 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
25 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
26 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI
27 University of Wisconsin - La Crosse La Crosse, WI
28 Saint Norbert College De Pere, WI
29 The College of Wooster Wooster, OH
30 Bradley University Peoria, IL
31 Augustana College Rock Island, IL
32 University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI
33 Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN
34 Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI

Best Communication & Journalism Colleges by State

Explore the best communication & journalism schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 35 3,230
Ohio 34 3,581
Illinois 34 3,467
Indiana 33 2,304
Wisconsin 31 1,871

View All Rankings >

Communication & Journalism Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 6,366
Public Relations & Advertising 2,485
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 1,602
Journalism 1,313
Communication & Journalism (Other) 72
Publishing 1

Related Major Annual Graduates
Social Sciences 16,644
English Language & Literature 4,365
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 3,835
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 3,279
History 2,881
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 2,008
Philosophy & Religious Studies 1,404
Theology & Religious Vocations 1,334
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies 993

Notes and References

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