2022 Best Value Public Relations Schools for a Master’s in Illinois

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Public Relations Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Public Relations & Advertising is the 53rd most popular major in the country with 20,229 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, public relations and advertising graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,513 and had an average of $25,130 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 953 public relations and advertising graduates with average earnings and debt of $42,467 and $24,558 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 112 public relations and advertising graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Relations Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in public relations and advertising. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public relations and advertising programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the public relations and advertising program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 “Best Value Public Relations Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Public Relations Schools for a Master’s in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Relations Schools for a Master’s in Illinois.

Top 3 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$65,238 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Public Relations Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school handed out 24 degrees to qualified masters’s public relations students in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Relations & Advertising Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Public Relations & Advertising at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#2

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$56,234 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Relations Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. DePaul University is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 38 masters’s public relations degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree public relations students list, DePaul has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Relations & Advertising Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full DePaul University Public Relations & Advertising Report

#3

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$70,776 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Relations Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 50 masters’s public relations degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Public Relations & Advertising Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Relations & Advertising at Northwestern

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising

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

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees 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.

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