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Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Illinois

2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Illinois

27 Colleges
$35,207 Avg Salary
$24,284 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies 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.

The Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 27 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for communications majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Communication & Media Studies 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 degree in Illinois. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, communications graduates from Northwestern carry an average student debtload of $18,366.

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 small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Communications majors at UIUC take out an average of $19,176 in student loans while working on their egree. 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

Out of the 27 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Lake Forest College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Lake Forest, Lake Forest is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their degree, communications graduates from Lake Forest carry an average student debtload of $27,000.

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The excellent programs at Loyola University Chicago helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best communication and media studies schools in Illinois. Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Communications majors at Loyola Chicago take out an average of $18,875 in student loans while working on their egree.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wheaton College Illinois. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Illinois list. Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Wheaton.

The average amount in student loans that communications majors at Wheaton College Illinois take out is $21,500.

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Western Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for communication and media studies students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

On average, communications graduates from WIU take out $28,032 in student loans while working on their degree.

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Illinois State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Illinois list. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the suburb of Normal.

On average, communications graduates from Illinois State take out $19,500 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $242, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#8

Augustana College

Rock Island, IL

Augustana College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Illinois list. Augustana is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Rock Island.

Communications majors at Augustana take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

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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. North Central is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Naperville.

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Northern Illinois University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Illinois ranking. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

After completing their degree, communications graduates from NIU carry an average student debtload of $27,000. 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 Schools 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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