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Most Popular Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

19 Colleges
$31,564 Avg Salary
$23,720 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree School for You

Journalism is the #88 most popular major in Illinois with 332 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 19 schools in Illinois to see which ones were the most popular bachelor's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Journalism program at each school on the list.

Check out the journalism bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in Illinois.

Our analysis found University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to be the most popular school for journalism students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Illinois. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.

Women make up 65% of the journalism majors at the school.

For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $194.

Read More…

#2

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means DePaul University is a great place for journalism students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Of the 47 students majoring in journalism at DePaul, 30% are male and 70% are female.

On average, journalism graduates from DePaul take out $21,169 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 $448.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Columbia College Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 72% of the journalism majors at the school.

On average, journalism graduates from Columbia take out $25,984 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $424, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Journalism at Columbia College Chicago Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Loyola University Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Women make up 69% of the journalism majors at the school.

On average, journalism graduates from Loyola Chicago take out $21,932 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Journalism at Loyola University Chicago

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at Illinois State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular journalism schools in Illinois. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Women make up 72% of the journalism majors at the school.

Full Journalism at Illinois State University Report

With a ranking of #6, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for journalism students working on their bachelor’s degree. SIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Carbondale.

Of the 28 students majoring in journalism at SIUC, 29% are male and 71% are female.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, journalism graduates from SIUC carry an average student debt load of $25,613.

Read full report on Journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Northern Illinois University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

About 65% of the students majoring in journalism at the school are women while 35% are male.

Journalism majors at NIU take out an average of $26,604 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Journalism at Northern Illinois University

#8

Augustana College

Rock Island, IL

Augustana College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree journalism programs. Augustana is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Rock Island.

Of the 14 students majoring in journalism at Augustana, 29% are male and 71% are female.

Full Journalism at Augustana College Report

#9

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

Eastern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for journalism students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the distant town of Charleston, EIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Of the 10 students majoring in journalism at EIU, 60% are male and 40% are female.

On average, journalism graduates from EIU take out $22,314 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Journalism at Eastern Illinois University Report

#10

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Bradley University ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 78% of the journalism majors at the school.

Read More…

Best Journalism Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Journalism Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 245
Ohio 426
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 19 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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