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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Journalism in Illinois

15 Ranked Colleges
465 Degrees Awarded
$22,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois

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 Bachelor’s in Illinois” 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 Illinois, there were 614 general journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 465 general journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking looked at 15 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general journalism. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general journalism programs, but they also 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank General Journalism Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

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

Top 15 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Journalism in Illinois

#1

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 15 schools in the Best Value Journalism 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. Illinois State University is located in Normal, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 33 bachelors’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

Illinois State also took the #5 spot in our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State University is $20,895 for Illinois 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 University General Journalism Report

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 15 schools in the Best Value Journalism 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. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 59 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $15,880 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign General Journalism Report

#3

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#10 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. NIU is a fairly large school located in Dekalb, Illinois that handed out 28 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NIU, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for NIU is $18,259 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

Read full report on General Journalism at NIU

#4

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#13 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at WIU, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $16,210 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend Western Illinois University.

Full WIU General Journalism Report

#12 in overall quality

Out of the 15 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 30 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

SIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend SIUC is $16,945 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale General Journalism Report

#6

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois
#14 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Eastern Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Eastern Illinois University is a medium-sized public school situated in Charleston, Illinois. It awarded 13 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

EIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for EIU is $14,607 for illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students.

Full Eastern Illinois University General Journalism Report

#7

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

Bradley University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #7. This medium-sized school is located in Peoria, Illinois, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Bradley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $25,634 for illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students per year to attend Bradley.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Journalism at Bradley

#8

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#11 in overall quality

Columbia College Chicago ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 27 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

Columbia also made our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #11. The estimated yearly cost for Columbia is $31,099 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

Read full report on General Journalism at Columbia College Chicago

#9

Dominican University

River Forest, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

Dominican University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Dominican University is located in River Forest, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

Dominican U also made our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for Dominican University is $19,268 for illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Dominican U General Journalism Report

#10

North Central College

Naperville, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

With a ranking of #10, North Central College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This small school is located in Naperville, Illinois, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students list, North Central has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for North Central College is $24,786 for illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full North Central College General Journalism Report

#11

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, Illinois
#15 in overall quality

Concordia University, Chicago came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in River Forest, Illinois. It awarded 2 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Concordia University, Chicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #15 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $16,512 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend Concordia University, Chicago.

Read full report on General Journalism at Concordia University, Chicago

#12

Augustana College

Rock Island, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Augustana College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Located in Rock Island, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 22 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Augustana, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $23,874 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend Augustana.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Augustana General Journalism Report

#13

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #13, DePaul University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 42 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul is $30,090 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism 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 General Journalism Report

#14

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Loyola University Chicago ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Loyola Chicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Loyola University Chicago is $35,407 for illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Loyola University Chicago General Journalism Report

#15

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

With a ranking of #15, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 151 bachelors’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $24,664 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on General Journalism at Northwestern University

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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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