by our College Data Analytics Team
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois” ranking.
General Journalism is the 69th most popular major in the country with 11,380 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across Illinois, there were 317 general journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 291 general journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,117 and $25,584 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois” ranking, we looked at 18 colleges that offer a degree in general journalism. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their general journalism program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois”.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Columbia College Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 34 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 18 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Augustana College landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Rock Island, Illinois, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%.
Out of the 18 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 28 degrees to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on General Journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois. DePaul University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 47 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Loyola University Chicago. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 39 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
North Central College landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois ranking. This small school is located in Naperville, Illinois, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #7, Bradley University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois list. Peoria, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%.
Eastern Illinois University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois ranking. Eastern Illinois University is a medium-sized school located in Charleston, Illinois that handed out 10 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Illinois State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois ranking. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 29 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Northern Illinois University ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois list. NIU is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 17 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about General Journalism at Northern Illinois University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #11. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 49 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
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 undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Dominican University ranked #12 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois list. Dominican U is a small school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 2 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Lewis University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #13. This medium-sized school is located in Romeoville, Illinois, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #14, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois list. Western Illinois University is a public institution located in Macomb, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Concordia University, Chicago did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #15. Concordia University, Chicago is located in River Forest, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Concordia University, Chicago General Journalism Report
Northwestern University landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 0 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Roosevelt University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois ranking. Roosevelt University is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 0 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Knox College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Journalism Major in Illinois ranking. Knox is located in Galesburg, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 0 bachelors’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
