by our College Data Analytics TeamThe main focus area for this major is General Journalism. For more details on this concentration, visit its profile page.
Journalism is a major offered under the communication and journalism program of study at Eastern Illinois University. We’ve pulled together some essential information you should know about the bachelor’s degree program in journalism, including how many students graduate each year, the ethnic diversity of these students, and more.
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In order to help students and their parents find the best school for them, we have created several different types of college rankings, which are updated yearly. The bachelor's program at EIU was ranked #231 on College Factual's Best Schools for journalism list. It is also ranked #15 in Illinois.
Here are some of the other rankings for EIU.
During the 2019-2020 academic year, part-time undergraduate students at EIU paid an average of $377 per credit hour if they came to the school from out-of-state. In-state students paid a discounted rate of $306 per credit hour. The average full-time tuition and fees for undergraduates are shown in the table below.
| In State | Out of State | |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $9,036 | $11,231 |
| Fees | $2,895 | $2,895 |
| Books and Supplies | $150 | $150 |
| On Campus Room and Board | $10,262 | $10,262 |
| On Campus Other Expenses | $2,534 | $2,534 |
Learn more about EIU tuition and fees.
One factor in determining the overall cost in a degree is to consider how much in student loans you’ll have to take out. Students who received their bachelor’s degree at EIU in Journalism walked away with an average of $27,000 in student debt. That is 16% higher than the national average of $23,314.
The median early career salary of journalism students who receive their bachelor’s degree from EIU is $22,806 per year. That is 24% lower than the national average of $29,851.
EIU does not offer an online option for its journalism bachelor’s degree program at this time. To see if the school offers distance learning options in other areas, visit the EIU Online Learning page.
About 30.8% of the students who received their BA in journalism in 2019-2020 were women. This is less than the nationwide number of 66.2%.
Of those graduates who received a bachelor’s degree in journalism at EIU in 2019-2020, 15.4% were racial-ethnic minorities*. This is lower than the nationwide number of 34%.
| Race/Ethnicity | Number of Students |
|---|---|
| Asian | 0 |
| Black or African American | 0 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 2 |
| Native American or Alaska Native | 0 |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | 0 |
| White | 11 |
| International Students | 0 |
| Other Races/Ethnicities | 0 |
Journalism students may decide to major in one of the following focus areas.
| Focus Area | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Journalism | 13 |
You may also be interested in one of these majors related to journalism.
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Communication & Media Studies | 41 |
| Radio, Television & Digital Communication | 14 |
| Public Relations & Advertising | 15 |
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
