College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

10 Colleges in Illinois
249 Master's Degrees
$48,224 Avg Early-Career Salary
Communication & Media Studies is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #44 most popular master's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 10 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of communication & media studies. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 249 master's degrees in communication & media studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School for Your Master's Degree

Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in Illinois Your choice of communication & media studies for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Communications Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Communication & Media Studies in Illinois

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in communication & media studies.

10 Top Illinois Schools for a Master's in Communications

1

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in communication & media studies has to check out Northwestern University. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Master's recipients from the communication & media studies degree program at Northwestern University get $19,897 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Northwestern University

1
11 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you want to pursue a master's degree in communication & media studies. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in communication & media studies has to check out DePaul University. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.

Students who graduate with their master's from the communications program report average early career wages of $46,221.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from DePaul University

3

It is hard to beat Illinois State University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in communication & media studies. Illinois State is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

Students who graduate with their master's from the communications program report average early career wages of $43,893.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Illinois State University

4
6 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat Southern Illinois University Carbondale if you wish to pursue a master's degree in communication & media studies. SIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Carbondale.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

5
17 Annual Graduates

Located in the town of Charleston, EIU is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Eastern Illinois University

6
10 Annual Graduates

Columbia is a medium-sized private not-for-profit college located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Columbia College Chicago

7

SIUE is a large public university located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

Soon after graduation, communications master's recipients generally earn an average of $34,662 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

8
14 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Northern Illinois University

9
3 Annual Graduates

UIS is a small public university located in the midsize city of Springfield.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from University of Illinois at Springfield

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 211 123
Ohio 207 76
Indiana 191 239
Wisconsin 173 40

View All Rankings >

One of 5 majors within the Communication & Journalism area of study, Communication & Media Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Communications Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Speech Communication 178
Communications 42
Other Communication & Media Studies 18
Communication & Media Studies 11

Related Major Annual Graduates
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 319
Public Relations & Advertising 105
Journalism 32

Notes and References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options