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2021 Best Journalism Colleges for Non-Traditional Students

135 Colleges
10,632 Bachelor's Degrees
$37,061 Avg Cost*

Finding the Best Journalism Schools for Non-Traditional Students

Best Journalism Colleges for Non-Traditional StudentsJournalism is the #46th most popular major in the country with 10,632 bachelor's degrees awarded in <nil>.

For this year's Best Journalism Colleges for Non-Traditional Students ranking, we looked at 135 colleges that offer a bachelor's in journalism. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great journalism programs and a strong support system for non-traditional students.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as affordability, and overall quality of the journalism program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Journalism Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Journalism Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 the Best Journalism Schools for Non-Traditional Students.

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


 

2021 Best Journalism Schools for Non-Traditional Students in the United States

Check out the journalism programs at these schools if you want to see which ones are the best for non-traditional students.

Top 15% Best Journalism Schools for Non-Traditional Students

1

University of Missouri - Columbia tops the 2021 list of our schools in the United States that are best for non-traditional journalism students. Mizzou is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Columbia. Mizzou also took the #2 spot in our Best Colleges for Journalism rankings.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.7%. There are approximately 15,161 students at Mizzou that take at least one class online. 5,276 of Mizzou students are attending part time.

Read More…

2

The #2 spot in this year's ranking belongs to George Washington University. Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, GWU has also earned the #6 rank in our Best Colleges for Journalism ranking.

About 0.4% of GWU students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 5,340 students at GWU are exclusively online. 8,798 of GWU students are attending part time.

Read full report on Journalism at George Washington University

3
Emerson crest
Emerson College
Boston, MA

Emerson College earned the #3 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the city of Boston, Emerson is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population. Emerson also took the #4 spot in our Best Colleges for Journalism rankings.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.5%. 889 students at Emerson are exclusively online. About 562 of the students at Emerson are attending part time.

Full Journalism at Emerson College Report

4

University of Southern California comes in at #4 in this year's ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population. USC also took the #5 spot in our Best Colleges for Journalism rankings.

The student loan default rate at USC is lower than is typical, just 0.5% of students default in three years. Approximately 15,291 students take at least one class online at USC. 6,687 students are part time.

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5
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA

University of Iowa comes in at #5 in this year's ranking. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public college with a very large student population. Iowa also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Journalism list. It's in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.2%. Approximately 12,975 students take at least one class online at Iowa. 5,055 of Iowa students are attending part time.

Read More…

6

Our rankings recognize University of Minnesota - Twin Cities as the #6 school in this year's rankings. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a very large student population. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UMN Twin Cities also is in the top 15% of our Best Colleges for Journalism ranking.

The student loan default rate at UMN Twin Cities is lower than is typical, just 0.6% of students default in three years. There are approximately 21,237 students at UMN Twin Cities that take at least one class online. About 13,655 of the students at UMN Twin Cities are attending part time.

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7
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY

Our rankings recognize Syracuse University as the #7 school in this year's rankings. Syracuse is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Syracuse is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Journalism list.

About 1.1% of Syracuse students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 2,812 students at Syracuse that take at least one class online. About 3,491 of the students at Syracuse are attending part time.

Read full report on Journalism at Syracuse University

8

The University of Texas at Austin landed the #8 spot in our 2021 best journalism schools for non-traditional students. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the city of Austin. UT Austin also took the #7 spot in our Best Colleges for Journalism rankings.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.8%. Approximately 23,198 students take at least one class online at UT Austin. 3,479 students are part time.

Read full report on Journalism at The University of Texas at Austin

9
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

University of Kansas landed the #9 spot in our 2021 best journalism schools for non-traditional students. Located in the city of Lawrence, KU is a public school with a fairly large student population. KU excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Journalism list.

The student loan default rate at KU is lower than is typical, just 1.2% of students default in three years. There are approximately 11,364 students at KU that take at least one class online. 4,657 of KU students are attending part time.

Full Journalism at University of Kansas Report

10

University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #10 spot in our 2021 best journalism schools for non-traditional students. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the city of Madison. UW - Madison excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Journalism list.

The student loan default rate at UW - Madison is lower than is typical, just 0.2% of students default in three years. Approximately 11,375 students take at least one class online at UW - Madison. 4,683 of UW - Madison students are attending part time.

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11

University of Maryland - College Park landed the #11 spot in our 2021 best journalism schools for non-traditional students. Located in the large suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public college with a very large student population. UMCP not only placed well in our non-traditional rankings. It is also #8 on our Best Colleges for Journalism list.

About 0.7% of UMCP students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 11,700 students at UMCP that take at least one class online. There are roughly 4,841 part time students in attendance at UMCP.

Read full report on Journalism at University of Maryland - College Park

12

Northeastern University earned the #12 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population. Northeastern not only placed well in our non-traditional rankings. It is also #9 on our Best Colleges for Journalism list.

The student loan default rate at Northeastern is lower than is typical, just 0.5% of students default in three years. Approximately 7,987 students take at least one class online at Northeastern. 1,267 students are part time.

Read full report on Journalism at Northeastern University

13

Our rankings recognize Quinnipiac University as the #13 school in this year's rankings. Located in the large suburb of Hamden, Quinnipiac is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. Quinnipiac also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Journalism list. It's in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

The student loan default rate at Quinnipiac is lower than is typical, just 1.2% of students default in three years. Approximately 4,129 students take at least one class online at Quinnipiac. 1,458 of Quinnipiac students are attending part time.

Read More…

14

Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #14 spot in our 2021 best journalism schools for non-traditional students. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public college with a fairly large student population. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, IU Bloomington also did well on our Best Colleges for Journalism list. It's in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.4%. There are approximately 18,013 students at IU Bloomington that take at least one class online. 5,256 of IU Bloomington students are attending part time.

Full Journalism at Indiana University - Bloomington Report

15

Georgia College & State University comes in at #15 in this year's ranking. Located in the town of Milledgeville, Georgia College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The student loan default rate at Georgia College is lower than is typical, just 0.9% of students default in three years. There are approximately 1,492 students at Georgia College that take at least one class online. About 1,421 of the students at Georgia College are attending part time.

Read full report on Journalism at Georgia College & State University

16

University of Oklahoma Norman Campus landed the #16 spot in our 2021 best journalism schools for non-traditional students. Located in the suburb of Norman, University of Oklahoma is a public school with a fairly large student population. University of Oklahoma excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Journalism list.

About 1.2% of University of Oklahoma students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 12,433 students at University of Oklahoma that take at least one class online. There are roughly 6,082 part time students in attendance at University of Oklahoma.

Read full report on Journalism at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

17
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC

American University landed the #17 spot in our 2021 best journalism schools for non-traditional students. The American University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, The American University also is in the top 15% of our Best Colleges for Journalism ranking.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.9%. Approximately 5,283 students take at least one class online at The American University. 3,612 of The American University students are attending part time.

Read full report on Journalism at American University

18
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA

The #18 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Boston University. Boston U is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston. Boston U also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Journalism list. It's in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.5%. 4,032 of Boston U students are exclusively distance learners. 7,057 of Boston U students are attending part time.

Read full report on Journalism at Boston University

19

University of Georgia comes in at #19 in this year's ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Athens, UGA is a public college with a fairly large student population. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UGA also is in the top 15% of our Best Colleges for Journalism ranking.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.8%. Approximately 6,742 students take at least one class online at UGA. There are roughly 4,437 part time students in attendance at UGA.

Read full report on Journalism at University of Georgia

20

The #20 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Ohio University - Athens Campus. OHIO Athens is a very large public school located in the town of Athens.

The student loan default rate at OHIO Athens is lower than is typical, just 1.2% of students default in three years. There are approximately 11,926 students at OHIO Athens that take at least one class online. 7,245 of OHIO Athens students are attending part time.

Read full report on Journalism at Ohio University - Athens Campus

Rest of the Top Schools for Best Journalism Colleges for Non-Traditional Students

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Journalism Colleges for Non-Traditional Students award.

Rank College Location
21 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
22 University of North Texas Denton, TX
23 West Virginia University Morgantown, WV
24 Creighton University Omaha, NE
25 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ
26 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO
27 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA

Journalism by Region

View the best for non-traditional students Journalism colleges in a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

One of 5 majors within the Communication & Journalism area of study, Journalism has other similar majors worth exploring.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*Avg Cost is for the top 25 schools only.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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