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2024 Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois

11 Colleges in Illinois
317 Journalism Degrees Awarded
General Journalism is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #69 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 11 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 317 degrees in general journalism during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great General Journalism School

Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois The journalism program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for General Journalism rankings. For our Best Overall General Journalism School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your General Journalism Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Journalism
Master's Degrees in Journalism

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for General Journalism in Illinois

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the journalism degree levels they offer.

10 Top Illinois Schools in Journalism

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL
53 Journalism Degrees Awarded

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great decision for students interested in a degree in general journalism. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 53 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general journalism from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IL
39 Journalism Degrees Awarded

Every student pursuing a degree in general journalism needs to check out Loyola University Chicago. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 39 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general journalism from Loyola University Chicago

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In IL

It is difficult to beat Southern Illinois University Carbondale if you want to pursue a degree in general journalism. Located in the small city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 28 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general journalism from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

4
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL
65 Journalism Degrees Awarded

DePaul University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in general journalism. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #203 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.

There were about 65 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general journalism from DePaul University

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In IL
34 Journalism Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #370 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great college overall.

There were approximately 34 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general journalism from Columbia College Chicago

6
Augustana crest
Augustana College
Rock Island, IL
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In IL

Augustana is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small city of Rock Island. This college ranks 21st out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 14 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at Augustana in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general journalism from Augustana College

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In IL

Located in the midsize city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #309 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Bradley is a great university overall.

There were about 9 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general journalism from Bradley University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In IL

Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #231 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.

There were about 29 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general journalism from Illinois State University

9
North Central crest
North Central College
Naperville, IL
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In IL

Located in the city of Naperville, North Central is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 25th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 6 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at North Central in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general journalism from North Central College

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In IL

NIU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Dekalb. This university ranks 24th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 17 general journalism students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general journalism from Northern Illinois University

Best General Journalism Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best General Journalism Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Ohio 939 367
Michigan 915 226
Indiana 737 268
Wisconsin 672 325

View All Rankings >

One of 6 majors within the Journalism area of study, General Journalism has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Photojournalism 9
Other Journalism 6

View All Journalism Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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