Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

General Journalism

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region

9 Ranked Colleges
185 Degrees Awarded
$28,300 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master's in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

General Journalism is the 58th most popular major in the country with 12,336 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 1,879 general journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 185 general journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,039 and $42,488 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general journalism. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general journalism programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the general journalism program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The journalism school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k”.

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. 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 Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k 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 120 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best General Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Northwestern University General Journalism Report

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k. UW - Madison is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW - Madison, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best General Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wisconsin - Madison are $25,523.

Full UW - Madison General Journalism Report

#3 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best General Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign General Journalism Report

#4

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Michigan State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in East Lansing, Michigan, this large public school awarded 5 degrees to qualified masters’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

Michigan State also made our “Best General Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #4. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Michigan State University are $37,056.

Read more about General Journalism at Michigan State University

#5

Ball State University

Muncie, Indiana

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ball State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Muncie, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s journalism degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

Ball State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #0 on our “Best General Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Ball State University are $26,204, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Journalism at Ball State

#8 in overall quality

University of Illinois at Springfield came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This small school is located in Springfield, Illinois, and it awarded 4 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIS, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best General Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIS are $16,757, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Journalism at UIS

#5 in overall quality

Kent State University at Kent ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Kent, Ohio, and it awarded 9 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Kent State also made our “Best General Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at Kent State are $21,952, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on General Journalism at Kent State

#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, Ohio University - Athens Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. OHIO Athens is a large school located in Athens, Ohio that handed out 7 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at OHIO Athens, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best General Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Ohio University - Athens Campus are $17,712, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on General Journalism at Ohio University - Athens Campus

#9

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #9. DePaul University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 20 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul also made our “Best General Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #7. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full DePaul General Journalism 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

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Jfurrer.

Featured Communications / Public Relations Schools

Find Schools Near You