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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in Illinois

9 Ranked Colleges
369 Degrees Awarded
$19,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 10,951 people earned their degree in communication and media studies, making the major the 74th most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 392 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 369 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in communication and media studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality communication and media studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the communication and media studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Communication & Media Studies 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 Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in Illinois

#1

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Normal, Illinois, and it awarded 67 bachelors’s media studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $20,895 for illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students per year to attend Illinois State.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Illinois State Communication & Media Studies Report

#1 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. UIUC is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 38 bachelors’s media studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $15,880 for illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students per year to attend UIUC.

The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This fairly large school is located in Edwardsville, Illinois, and it awarded 77 bachelors’s media studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students list, SIUE has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,423 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Media Studies students per year to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at SIUE

#4

Governors State University

University Park, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Governors State University landed the #4 spot on the list. This small school is located in University Park, Illinois, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s media studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at GSU, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for GSU is $12,077 for illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Governors State University

#5

University of St Francis

Joliet, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of St Francis. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This small school is located in Joliet, Illinois, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s media studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students list, University of Saint Francis has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $17,538 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Media Studies students per year to attend University of Saint Francis.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%.

Full University of St Francis Communication & Media Studies Report

#6

North Park University

Chicago, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

North Park University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #6. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s media studies degrees in 2019-2020.

North Park also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend North Park University is $19,170 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Media Studies students.

The 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.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at North Park

#8 in overall quality

Trinity International University - Illinois landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. TIU Illinois is a private not-for-profit institution located in Deerfield, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students list, TIU Illinois has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Trinity International University - Illinois is $21,204 for illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Trinity International University - Illinois

#8

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, Olivet Nazarene University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Olivet Nazarene is a small school located in Bourbonnais, Illinois that handed out 14 bachelors’s media studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Olivet Nazarene, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $20,195 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Media Studies students per year to attend Olivet Nazarene University.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Olivet Nazarene

#9

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

DePaul University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. DePaul University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 128 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at DePaul, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul is $30,090 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Media Studies students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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%.

Full DePaul University Communication & Media Studies Report

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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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