2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s
19
Ranked Colleges
300
Degrees Awarded
$32,059
Avg Salary
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s” ranking.
In 2020-2021, 13,552 people earned their degree in journalism, making the major the 69th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $32,953 and had an average of $23,734 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 332 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,522 and $23,595 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 300 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,117 and $25,584 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s” ranking analyzed 19 colleges that offered a degree in journalism. To top this list, a school must have a successful journalism program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The journalism school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s”.
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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s
The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree journalism students.
Top 19 Most Popular Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism in Illinois
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 #1 for the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school handed out 49 degrees to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full UIUC Journalism Report
Out of the 19 schools in the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, DePaul University landed the #2 spot on the list. DePaul is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 47 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Journalism at DePaul
Out of the 19 schools in the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Columbia College Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. Columbia College Chicago is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 43 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Journalism at Columbia College Chicago
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loyola University Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s. Loyola University Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 39 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read full report on Journalism at Loyola University Chicago
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Normal, Illinois, this large public school awarded 29 degrees to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Illinois State University Journalism Report
Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #6 on this year’s Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 28 degrees to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Northern Illinois University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s ranking. Northern Illinois University is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 17 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Journalism at NIU
Augustana College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s ranking. Located in Rock Island, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 14 degrees to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Journalism at Augustana College
With a ranking of #9, Eastern Illinois University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Charleston, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 10 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Journalism at EIU
Bradley University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #10. This medium-sized school is located in Peoria, Illinois, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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%.
Full Bradley University Journalism Report
North Central College ranked #11 on this year’s Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s list. North Central is located in Naperville, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 bachelors’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
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%.
Full North Central Journalism Report
With a ranking of #12, Lewis University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Romeoville, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 3 degrees to qualified bachelors’s journalism students 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%.
Read full report on Journalism at Lewis University
Western Illinois University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s ranking. WIU 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.
Read more about Journalism at Western Illinois University
Dominican University ranked #14 on this year’s Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s list. This small school is located in River Forest, Illinois, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Journalism at Dominican U
With a ranking of #15, Concordia University, Chicago did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s list. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 1 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
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%.
Read more about Journalism at Concordia University, Chicago
Roosevelt University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s ranking. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 0 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Journalism at Roosevelt
With a ranking of #16, Knox College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s list. Knox College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Galesburg, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Journalism at Knox College
With a ranking of #16, Benedictine University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s list. Benedictine U is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Lisle, Illinois. It awarded 0 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.9% 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%.
Read more about Journalism at Benedictine U
Northwestern University landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in Illinois for a Bachelor’s ranking. Northwestern University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The undergraduate 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.
Read full report on 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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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