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2024 Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

37 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
1,496 Bachelor's Degrees
$32,292 Avg Early-Career Salary
Journalism is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #46 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 37 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,496 bachelor's degrees in journalism during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Journalism School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The journalism bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for journalism students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Journalism in the Great Lakes Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in journalism.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Journalism

1
196 Annual Graduates
$42,011 Median Starting Salary
$23,250 Median Student Debt

University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in journalism. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those journalism students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Wisconsin - Madison receive $9,719 more than the standard journalism student.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from University of Wisconsin - Madison

2
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
103 Annual Graduates
$32,480 Median Starting Salary
$24,985 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in journalism needs to check out Michigan State University. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the journalism program make an average of $32,480 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Michigan State University

3
49 Annual Graduates
$35,459 Median Starting Salary
$22,300 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in journalism. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Journalism bachelor's degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign get an earnings boost of approximately $3,167 above the typical income of journalism graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4
123 Annual Graduates
$37,589 Median Starting Salary
$19,500 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat Indiana University - Bloomington if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in journalism. IU Bloomington is a very large public university located in the small city of Bloomington.

Bachelor's recipients from the journalism major at Indiana University - Bloomington get $5,297 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Indiana University - Bloomington

5
165 Annual Graduates
$35,870 Median Starting Salary
$24,208 Median Student Debt

OHIO Athens is a very large public university located in the town of Athens.

Journalism bachelor's degree recipients from Ohio University - Athens Campus get an earnings boost of approximately $3,578 over the average earnings of journalism graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Ohio University - Athens Campus

6
37 Annual Graduates
$37,353 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public university located in the fringe town of Oxford.

Those journalism students who get their bachelor's degree from Miami University - Oxford earn $5,061 more than the average journalism grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Miami University - Oxford

7
61 Annual Graduates
$31,718 Median Starting Salary
$25,675 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Muncie, Ball State is a public university with a large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the journalism program earn about $31,718 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Ball State University

8
Marquette crest
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI
30 Annual Graduates
$31,947 Median Starting Salary
$26,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the journalism program state that they receive average early career earnings of $31,947.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Marquette University

9
27 Annual Graduates
$29,194 Median Starting Salary
$26,250 Median Student Debt

UC is a very large public university located in the city of Cincinnati.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the journalism program state that they receive average early career wages of $29,194.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

10
41 Annual Graduates
$33,582 Median Starting Salary
$22,837 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Indianapolis, IUPUI is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the journalism program report average early career income of $33,582.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

Best Journalism Colleges by State

Explore the best journalism colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 230
Ohio 252 390
Illinois 241 300
Indiana 235 264
Wisconsin 213 312

View All Rankings >

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

Journalism Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Journalism 1,407
Photojournalism 52
Broadcast Journalism 19
Other Journalism 18

Majors Similar to Journalism

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 7,910
Public Relations & Advertising 3,109
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 1,815
Communication & Journalism (Other) 121
Publishing 2

Notes and References

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