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Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

27 Colleges
$32,706 Avg Salary
$25,824 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 2,072 degrees and certificates were awarded to communication and media studies students who went to a Illinois college or university. This makes it the #15 most popular major in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 27 schools in Illinois to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for communications majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 10 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our analysis found Northwestern University to be the best school for communication and media studies students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Illinois. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that communications majors at Northwestern take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $19,125.

Full Communication & Media Studies at Northwestern University Report

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Out of the 27 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.

Communications majors at UIUC take out an average of $18,713 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $296, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#3

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, IL

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Lake Forest College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best communication and media studies schools in Illinois. Located in the suburb of Lake Forest, Lake Forest is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

On average, communications graduates from Lake Forest take out $26,895 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Loyola University Chicago. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Loyola University Chicago

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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Wheaton College Illinois helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best communication and media studies schools in Illinois. Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Wheaton.

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Illinois State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, communications majors at Illinois State accumulate an average of around $19,641 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $242, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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Western Illinois University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree communication and media studies programs. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Full Communication & Media Studies at Western Illinois University Report

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#8

Augustana College

Rock Island, IL

Augustana College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for communication and media studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Augustana is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Rock Island.

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#9

North Central College

Naperville, IL

With a ranking of #9, North Central College did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. North Central is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Naperville.

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Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for communication and media studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. NIU is a large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

On average, communications graduates from NIU take out $27,694 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $199.

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Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 1,789
Ohio 2,149
Indiana 1,600
Wisconsin 1,297

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

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Relations & Advertising 21,099
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 17,669
Journalism 13,552
Communication & Journalism (Other) 1,128
Publishing 336

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to UNU-WIDER from Helsinki, Finland.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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