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Best Value Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

41 Colleges
$22,089 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$31,564 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, journalism was ranked #70 in the country. In fact 13,552 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 41 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for journalism students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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

Top 10 Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of Wisconsin - Whitewater the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for journalism students working on their bachelor’s degree. UW - Whitewater is a fairly large public school located in the town of Whitewater.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Whitewater are $16,602 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, journalism graduates from UW - Whitewater carry an average student debtload of $23,132.

UW - Whitewater excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Journalism at University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value journalism schools in the Great Lakes Region . UW Oshkosh is a large public school located in the small city of Oshkosh.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW Oshkosh are $15,306 a year.

Read full report on Journalism at University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Wisconsin - River Falls. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the town of River Falls, UW - River Falls is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - River Falls are $15,661 a year.

UW - River Falls also claimed a spot on our Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Western Illinois University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value journalism schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WIU are $13,297 a year.

Full Journalism at Western Illinois University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NIU are $14,738 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, journalism graduates from NIU carry an average student debtload of $26,604.

Read More…

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. SIUC is a large public school located in the small city of Carbondale.

SIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $15,240 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, journalism majors at SIUC accumulate an average of around $25,613 in student debt.

Full Journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report

#7

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI

With a ranking of #7, Central Michigan University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for journalism students working on their bachelor’s degree. Central Michigan is a fairly large public school located in the town of Mount Pleasant.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Central Michigan are $13,094 a year. Journalism majors at Central Michigan take out an average of $25,477 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $297, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Journalism at Central Michigan University Report

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Eau Claire are $17,149 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - Eau Claire also did well on our Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

#9

Youngstown State University

Youngstown, OH

Youngstown State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for journalism students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Youngstown State University are $9,732 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, journalism majors at Youngstown State University accumulate an average of around $25,164 in student debt.

Full Journalism at Youngstown State University Report

#10

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

Eastern Illinois University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the distant town of Charleston, EIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

EIU undergraduate students pay an average of $14,551 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, journalism graduates from EIU carry an average student debtload of $22,314.

Full Journalism at Eastern Illinois University Report

Best Journalism Colleges by State

Explore the best journalism schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 245
Ohio 426
Illinois 332
Indiana 274
Wisconsin 325

One of 5 majors within the area of study, journalism has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 66,787
Public Relations & Advertising 21,099
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 17,669
Communication & Journalism (Other) 1,128
Publishing 336

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • 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 Jfurrer.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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