Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Communication & Media Studies

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

12 Ranked Colleges
203 Degrees Awarded
$22,200 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Communications Schools for a Master's in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking.

With 68,079 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, communication and media studies is the 9th most popular major in the United States. In 2017-2018, communication and media studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,728 and had an average of $24,931 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 2,073 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,543 and $26,465 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 203 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking looked at 12 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 12 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 83 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Northwestern University Communication & Media Studies Report

#9 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Springfield. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. UIS is a small public school situated in Springfield, Illinois. It awarded 6 masters’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

UIS also took the #9 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Springfield are $16,757, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at UIS

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school handed out 2 diplomas to qualified masters’s communications students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #0 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UIUC Communication & Media Studies Report

#4

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Eastern Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This medium-sized school is located in Charleston, Illinois, and it awarded 15 masters’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

EIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Eastern Illinois University are $20,761, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Eastern Illinois University

#5

Governors State University

University Park, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Governors State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This small school is located in University Park, Illinois, and it awarded 10 masters’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

GSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Governors State University are $14,674.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at GSU

#6

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

With a ranking of #6, Northern Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. NIU is located in Dekalb, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 masters’s communications degrees to qualified students.

NIU also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #8. Average graduate tuition and fees at NIU are $11,086, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Northern Illinois University Communication & Media Studies Report

#6 in overall quality

University of Illinois at Chicago ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s communications degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

UIC also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at UIC

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Located in Edwardsville, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 12 diplomas to qualified masters’s communications students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree communications students whose families make $75-$110k list, SIUE has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville are $9,300, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at SIUE

Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. SIUC is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 15 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also took the #4 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are $32,928.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at SIUC

#10

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

Illinois State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Illinois State University is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 23 masters’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois State University are $11,069, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Illinois State

#11 in overall quality

Northeastern Illinois University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Northeastern Illinois University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 masters’s communications degrees to qualified students.

Northeastern Illinois University also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #11. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northeastern Illinois University are $17,032, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Northeastern Illinois University Communication & Media Studies Report

#12

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking, coming in at #12. DePaul is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 21 masters’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760.

Full DePaul University Communication & Media Studies Report

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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.

Credits

Featured Communications / Public Relations Schools

Find Schools Near You