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2024 Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

10 Colleges in Illinois
300 Bachelor's Degrees
$32,059 Avg Early-Career Salary
a bachelor's degree in journalism is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #46 out of 363 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 10 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of journalism. Combined, these schools handed out 300 bachelor's degrees in journalism to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Journalism School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois Your choice of journalism for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality journalism program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete 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.

More Ways to Rank Journalism Schools

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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 Illinois ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Journalism in Illinois

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for journalism students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in Journalism

1
49 Annual Graduates
$35,459 Median Starting Salary
$22,300 Median Student Debt

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in journalism. UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign.

Journalism bachelor's degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign get an earnings boost of approximately $3,400 above the typical earnings of journalism graduates.

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

2
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
47 Annual Graduates
$29,031 Median Starting Salary
$24,334 Median Student Debt

DePaul University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in journalism. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the journalism program earn an average of $29,031 in their early career salary.

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

3
39 Annual Graduates
$33,124 Median Starting Salary
$23,000 Median Student Debt

Loyola University Chicago is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in journalism. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the journalism program state that they receive average early career wages of $33,124.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Loyola University Chicago

4
28 Annual Graduates
$27,165 Median Starting Salary
$25,500 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in journalism has to check out Southern Illinois University Carbondale. SIUC is a large public university located in the small city of Carbondale.

After graduating, journalism bachelor's recipients generally make about $27,165 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

5
43 Annual Graduates
$30,841 Median Starting Salary
$26,000 Median Student Debt

Columbia is a medium-sized private not-for-profit college located in the large city of Chicago.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the journalism program state that they receive average early career income of $30,841.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Columbia College Chicago

6
Augustana crest
Augustana College
Rock Island, IL
14 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Rock Island, Augustana is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Augustana College

7
9 Annual Graduates

Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Peoria.More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Bradley University

8
29 Annual Graduates
$31,908 Median Starting Salary
$23,500 Median Student Debt

Illinois State is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the journalism program report average early career income of $31,908.

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

9
17 Annual Graduates
$30,216 Median Starting Salary
$25,750 Median Student Debt

Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the journalism program make around $30,216 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Northern Illinois University

10

Located in the town of Charleston, EIU is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

After graduating, journalism bachelor's recipients typically make about $26,640 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Eastern Illinois University

Best Journalism Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Journalism Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

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

View All Rankings >

Journalism is one of 5 different types of Communication & Journalism programs to choose from.

Journalism Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Journalism 291
Photojournalism 9

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 1,802
Public Relations & Advertising 811
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 510
Communication & Journalism (Other) 44

Notes and References

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