2023 Most Well Attended Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Major in Illinois

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Most Well Attended Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Major in Illinois” ranking.

Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is the 170th most popular major in the country with 4,203 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

Across Illinois, there were 24 public relations, advertising, and applied communication graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Most Well Attended Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Major in Illinois” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in public relations, advertising, and applied communication. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular public relations, advertising, and applied communication programs in the United States.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Most Well Attended Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Major in Illinois” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Most Well Attended Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Major in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Major in Illinois”.

Top 3 Most Popular Colleges for Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication in Illinois

1

Bradley University
Peoria, Illinois

#11 overall quality in Illinois

$52,822 Average Early-Career Earnings

$26,303 Average Student Debt

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bradley University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Major in Illinois list. Located in Peoria, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 17 diplomas to qualified ’s public relations, advertising, and applied communication students in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Bradley Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication Report

2

McKendree University
Lebanon, Illinois

$47,532 Average Early-Career Earnings

$24,823 Average Student Debt

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend McKendree University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Major in Illinois list. McKendree University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Lebanon, Illinois. It awarded 5 ’s public relations, advertising, and applied communication degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% 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%.

Read more about Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication at McKendree

3

Saint Xavier University
Chicago, Illinois

$46,594 Average Early-Career Earnings

$25,464 Average Student Debt

Out of the 3 schools in the Most Well Attended Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Saint Xavier University landed the #3 spot on the list. SXU is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 2 ’s public relations, advertising, and applied communication degrees in 2020-2021.

Full SXU Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication Report

• Most Popular Colleges for Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication in the Great Lakes Region
• Most Popular Colleges for Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication

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

• *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 Bill Koplitz.