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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Journalism in the Great Lakes Region

45 Ranked Colleges
1,674 Degrees Awarded
$16,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor's in the Great Lakes Region

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 12,336 people earned their degree in general journalism, making the major the 58th most popular in the United States.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 1,879 general journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,674 general journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 45 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general journalism. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general journalism programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the general journalism program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank General Journalism Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Journalism in the Great Lakes Region

#10 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large school is located in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and it awarded 46 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

UW - Whitewater did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $15,249 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Whitewater.

Read full report on General Journalism at UW - Whitewater

#2

University of Wisconsin - River Falls

River Falls, Wisconsin
#20 in overall quality

Out of the 45 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - River Falls landed the #2 spot on the list. UW - River Falls is a medium-sized school located in River Falls, Wisconsin that handed out 4 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

UW - River Falls did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $13,748 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students per year to attend University of Wisconsin - River Falls.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Journalism at University of Wisconsin - River Falls

#15 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. UW - Eau Claire is a public institution located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UW - Eau Claire did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UW - Eau Claire is $16,020 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students.

Full UW - Eau Claire General Journalism Report

#21 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. UW Oshkosh is a fairly large public school situated in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It awarded 19 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

UW Oshkosh also made our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #21. The estimated yearly cost for University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh is $15,463 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

Full UW Oshkosh General Journalism Report

#5

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#12 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 33 students in 2019-2020.

Illinois State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois State is $20,895 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students.

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 General Journalism Report

#6

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

Northern Illinois University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Dekalb, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 28 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $18,259 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students per year to attend NIU.

Read full report on General Journalism at NIU

#7

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

With a ranking of #7, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 3 degrees to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend WIU is $16,210 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students.

Read full report on General Journalism at WIU

Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #8. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 30 students in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for SIUC is $16,945 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

Read full report on General Journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#9

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois

Eastern Illinois University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Charleston, Illinois, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Eastern Illinois University is $14,607 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

Read more about General Journalism at Eastern Illinois University

#10

Western Michigan University

Kalamazoo, Michigan

Western Michigan University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Kalamazoo, Michigan is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $19,433 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students per year to attend WMU.

Full WMU General Journalism Report

#13 in overall quality

Ohio University - Athens Campus came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Athens, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 163 students in 2019-2020.

OHIO Athens also took the #13 spot in our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Ohio University - Athens Campus is $22,906 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students.

Full OHIO Athens General Journalism Report

Kent State University at Kent did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #12. Kent State is a large public school situated in Kent, Ohio. It awarded 63 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Kent State is $18,885 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students.

Read more about General Journalism at Kent State University at Kent

#13

Indiana University - Southeast

New Albany, Indiana

Indiana University - Southeast ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Indiana University - Southeast is a public institution located in New Albany, Indiana. The school has a small population, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for Indiana University - Southeast is $10,657 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students.

Full Indiana University - Southeast General Journalism Report

#14

Youngstown State University

Youngstown, Ohio

Youngstown State University landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Youngstown State University is a fairly large public school situated in Youngstown, Ohio. It awarded 9 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Youngstown State University is $11,947 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

Read full report on General Journalism at Youngstown State University

#15

Eastern Michigan University

Ypsilanti, Michigan

Eastern Michigan University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Eastern Michigan is a public institution located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Eastern Michigan is $15,924 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

Full Eastern Michigan University General Journalism Report

#16

Ball State University

Muncie, Indiana
#17 in overall quality

Ball State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #16. Located in Muncie, Indiana, this large public school awarded 71 degrees to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

Ball State also took the #17 spot in our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $15,147 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend Ball State.

Read more about General Journalism at Ball State

Bowling Green State University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #17. This fairly large school is located in Bowling Green, Ohio, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $18,394 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students per year to attend Bowling Green State University - Main Campus.

Read full report on General Journalism at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus

#18

University of Southern Indiana

Evansville, Indiana

With a ranking of #18, University of Southern Indiana did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Southern Indiana is a fairly large public school situated in Evansville, Indiana. It awarded 4 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for University of Southern Indiana is $13,437 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Southern Indiana General Journalism Report

#19

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

With a ranking of #19, Central Michigan University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, this fairly large public school handed out 19 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Central Michigan is $15,981 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

Read full report on General Journalism at Central Michigan University

#25 in overall quality

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #20 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is located in Cincinnati, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 28 bachelors’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

UC also took the #25 spot in our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC is $21,843 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.

Read full report on General Journalism at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

#2 in overall quality

University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UW - Madison is a large public school situated in Madison, Wisconsin. It awarded 233 bachelors’s journalism 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 Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $17,708 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 Wisconsin - Madison General Journalism Report

#22

Oakland University

Rochester Hills, Michigan

With a ranking of #22, Oakland University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large school is located in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and it awarded 24 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $11,802 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend Oakland.

Read more about General Journalism at Oakland

#23

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana
#4 in overall quality

Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #23 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Indiana University - Bloomington is a public institution located in Bloomington, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 142 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at IU Bloomington, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $13,253 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend Indiana University - Bloomington.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on General Journalism at Indiana University - Bloomington

#3 in overall quality

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #24 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 59 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree journalism students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Journalism at UIUC

#8 in overall quality

Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Columbus, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 53 students in 2019-2020.

Ohio State also made our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #8. The yearly cost to attend Ohio State is $17,616 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low student loan default rate of 4.4% 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%.

Full Ohio State General Journalism 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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Jfurrer.

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