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

9 Ranked Colleges
189 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

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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.

In 2019-2020, 14,528 people earned their degree in journalism, making the major the 62nd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,042 and had an average of $24,628 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 1,983 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,873 and $26,636 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 189 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,039 and $42,488 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in journalism. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality 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 journalism program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Journalism Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

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 Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s journalism degrees to 120 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, Northwestern has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best 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 Northwestern University are $56,567.

Read full report on Journalism at Northwestern University

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #2 on our 2022 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 Madison, Wisconsin, and it awarded 13 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, UW - Madison has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UW - Madison are $25,523, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UW - Madison 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. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 5 degrees to qualified masters’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Journalism at UIUC

#4

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan

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. Michigan State University is located in East Lansing, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 masters’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

Michigan State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Michigan State are $37,056.

Full Michigan State Journalism Report

#5

Ball State University

Muncie, Indiana

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ball State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Muncie, Indiana, this large public school handed out 2 degrees to qualified masters’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

Ball State also took the #0 spot in our “Best 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 Ball State are $26,204.

Read more about Journalism at Ball State University

#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, University of Illinois at Springfield 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. UIS is a small public school situated in Springfield, Illinois. It awarded 4 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

UIS did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIS are $16,757, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of Illinois at Springfield Journalism Report

Kent State University at Kent came in at #7 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. Kent State is a large public school situated in Kent, Ohio. It awarded 9 masters’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Kent State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Kent State University at Kent are $21,952, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Journalism at Kent State University at Kent

#6 in overall quality

Ohio University - Athens Campus landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Athens, Ohio, this large public school handed out 7 diplomas to qualified masters’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

OHIO Athens also made our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #6. Average graduate tuition and fees at OHIO Athens are $17,712, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Journalism at OHIO Athens

#9

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #9, DePaul University 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. DePaul is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 20 masters’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Journalism at DePaul

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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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