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2024 Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois

25 Colleges in Illinois
4,546 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$35,627 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in communication & journalism is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #11 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 25 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 4,546 degrees in communication & journalism to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Communication & Journalism School

Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois The communication & journalism program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Communication & Journalism rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for communication & journalism schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Communication & Journalism Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Communication & Journalism
Master's Degrees in Communication & Journalism
Doctor's Degrees in Communication & Journalism

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Communication & Journalism in Illinois

The schools below may not offer all types of communication & journalism degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Illinois Schools in Communication & Journalism

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
823 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$52,939 Median Starting Salary

Northwestern University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in communication & journalism. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were about 823 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from Northwestern University receive an earnings boost of about $17,312 over the typical income of communication & journalism graduates.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
627 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$45,800 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you want to pursue a degree in communication & journalism. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 627 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $10,173 more than the average communication & journalism grad.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
455 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$38,400 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat DePaul University if you want to pursue a degree in communication & journalism. DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #203 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.

There were about 455 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the communication & journalism program at DePaul University make $2,773 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from DePaul University

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
93 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$36,966 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat Bradley University if you want to pursue a degree in communication & journalism. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Peoria. A Best Colleges rank of #309 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Bradley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 93 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the communication & journalism program earn about $36,966 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Bradley University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
248 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$36,784 Median Starting Salary

Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 248 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the communication & journalism program earn around $36,784 for their early career.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Loyola University Chicago

6
Lake Forest crest
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, IL
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$45,662 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Lake Forest is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Lake Forest. A Best Colleges rank of #289 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Lake Forest is a great college overall.

There were roughly 17 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Lake Forest in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from Lake Forest College make $10,035 more than the average communication & journalism graduate.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Lake Forest College

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
126 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
27.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were about 126 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the communication & journalism program make an average of $31,434 for their early career.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of Illinois at Chicago

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$34,982 Median Starting Salary
$21,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the suburb of Wheaton, Wheaton College Illinois is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #257 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Wheaton College Illinois is a great college overall.

There were roughly 29 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Wheaton College Illinois in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the communication & journalism program state that they receive average early career wages of $34,982.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Wheaton College Illinois

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
344 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
10.5% Growth in Graduates

Illinois State is a very large public university located in the suburb of Normal. A Best Colleges rank of #231 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 344 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from Illinois State University get an earnings boost of approximately $2,389 over the average income of communication & journalism graduates.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Illinois State University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
116 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$34,293 Median Starting Salary

SIUE is a large public university located in the large suburb of Edwardsville. This university ranks 31st out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 116 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the communication & journalism program earn about $34,293 for their early career.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Best Communication & Journalism Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Indiana 38 2,661
Michigan 38 3,516
Ohio 38 3,890
Wisconsin 37 1,988

View All Rankings >

Communication & Journalism Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 2,072
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 1,156
Public Relations & Advertising 942
Journalism 332
Communication & Journalism (Other) 44

View All Communication & Journalism Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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