by our College Data Analytics Team
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 13,552 people earned their degree in journalism, making the major the 69th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $32,953 and had an average of $23,734 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 1,618 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,946 and $25,109 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, we looked at 84 colleges that offer a degree in journalism. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their journalism program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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 “Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region” list to help you make the college 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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region journalism students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Central State University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region. Central State University is a medium-sized school located in Wilberforce, Ohio that handed out 13 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 84 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Olivet College landed the #2 spot on the list. Olivet College is a small school located in Olivet, Michigan that handed out 7 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Columbia College Chicago. The school came in at #3 for the Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region. Columbia is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 43 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Franklin College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Franklin College is located in Franklin, Indiana and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 5.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 84 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Ohio University - Athens Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Athens, Ohio, this large public school awarded 185 diplomas to qualified ’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #6, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Whitewater, Wisconsin, this fairly large public school awarded 55 diplomas to qualified ’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
Augustana College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #7. Augustana is a private not-for-profit institution located in Rock Island, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 14 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Indiana University - Southeast ranked #8 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This small school is located in New Albany, Indiana, and it awarded 13 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Journalism at Indiana University - Southeast
University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #9 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 209 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.
Read more about Journalism at University of Wisconsin - Madison
With a ranking of #10, Mount Vernon Nazarene University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Mount Vernon, Ohio. The school has a small population, and it awarded 7 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Journalism at Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Taylor University ranked #11 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Taylor U is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Upland, Indiana. It awarded 5 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Indiana University - Bloomington came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Bloomington, Indiana, and it awarded 123 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Kent State University at Kent ranked #13 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Kent, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s journalism degrees to 74 students in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #14, DePaul University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region list. DePaul is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 65 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Ball State University landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Muncie, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s journalism degrees to 68 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Marquette University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Marquette University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It awarded 30 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.
With a ranking of #17, Michigan State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Michigan State is a large school located in East Lansing, Michigan that handed out 111 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #18. SIUC is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 28 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Ohio Wesleyan University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. OWU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Delaware, Ohio. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Goshen College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #20. This small school is located in Goshen, Indiana, and it awarded 2 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago ranked #21 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region list. School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 6 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full School of the Art Institute of Chicago Journalism Report
Loyola University Chicago came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Loyola University Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 39 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #23, North Central College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region list. North Central is a private not-for-profit institution located in Naperville, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 6 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #24. University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh is a fairly large public school situated in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It awarded 18 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Miami University - Oxford landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Journalism Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This fairly large school is located in Oxford, Ohio, and it awarded 37 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
