2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Illinois” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
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 Illinois, there were 627 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,000 and $27,965 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 474 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 journalism. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent journalism programs, but they also cost less that 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
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 Bachelor’s in Illinois” list to help you make the college 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. 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 following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois.
Top 15 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism in Illinois
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Illinois State is a public institution located in Normal, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 33 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Illinois State also made our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $20,895 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend Illinois State.
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%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 61 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 Journalism Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. NIU is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 28 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students list, NIU has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for NIU is $18,259 for illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students.
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. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 3 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.
WIU also made our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #13. The estimated yearly cost for Western Illinois University is $16,210 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. 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.
SIUC also made our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #12. The estimated yearly cost for SIUC is $16,945 for illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students.
Eastern Illinois University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. EIU is a public institution located in Charleston, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
EIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $14,607 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend EIU.
With a ranking of #7, Bradley University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Located in Peoria, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 9 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.
Bradley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best 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.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.
Columbia College Chicago came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 34 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students list, Columbia has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Columbia is $31,099 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.
With a ranking of #9, Dominican University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This small school is located in River Forest, Illinois, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
Dominican U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $19,268 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend Dominican U.
The 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.
North Central College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #10. North Central is a small school located in Naperville, Illinois that handed out 9 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
North Central not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. 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%.
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 school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 2 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students list, Concordia University, Chicago has also earned the #15 rank in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $16,512 for illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students per year to attend Concordia University, Chicago.
Read full report on Journalism at Concordia University, Chicago
Augustana College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. This small school is located in Rock Island, Illinois, and it awarded 22 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
Augustana not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $23,874 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend Augustana.
The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
DePaul University landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 42 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students list, DePaul has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $30,090 for illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students per year to attend DePaul.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Loyola University Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #14. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 29 students in 2019-2020.
Loyola Chicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Loyola Chicago is $35,407 for illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students.
The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Northwestern University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #15. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 151 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern University is $24,664 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
- Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism in the Great Lakes Region
- Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism
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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.
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