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Most Popular Public Relations & Advertising Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Public Relations & Advertising Schools in Illinois

26 Colleges
$40,755 Avg Salary
$23,047 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Public Relations & Advertising School for You

Public Relations & Advertising is the #40 most popular major in Illinois with 930 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Most Popular Public Relations & Advertising Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 26 schools in Illinois to see which ones were the most popular programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Public Relations & Advertising program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for public relations majors pursuing a .

Our analysis found University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to be the most popular school for public relations and advertising students who want to pursue a degree in Illinois. UIUC is a very large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

The average amount in student loans that public relations majors at UIUC take out is $20,500. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $428, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Public Relations & Advertising at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

#2

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Public Relations & Advertising Schools in Illinois list. DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

The average amount in student loans that public relations majors at DePaul take out is $24,500. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $571, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Public Relations & Advertising at DePaul University

The excellent programs at Loyola University Chicago helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best public relations and advertising schools in Illinois. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

The average amount in student loans that public relations majors at Loyola Chicago take out is $25,000. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $801.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Public Relations & Advertising Schools in Illinois list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a very large student population.

On average, public relations graduates from Illinois State take out $21,739 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $259.

Read full report on Public Relations & Advertising at Illinois State University

#5

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bradley University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Public Relations & Advertising Schools in Illinois list. Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Peoria.

The average amount in student loans that public relations majors at Bradley take out is $27,000. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $716, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Public Relations & Advertising at Bradley University Report

#6

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular public relations and advertising programs. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

Full Public Relations & Advertising at Northwestern University Report

With a ranking of #7, Columbia College Chicago did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public relations and advertising students. Columbia is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

The average amount in student loans that public relations majors at Columbia take out is $25,697. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $495.

Read full report on Public Relations & Advertising at Columbia College Chicago

#8

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

Eastern Illinois University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public Relations & Advertising Schools in Illinois ranking. EIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Charleston.

On average, public relations graduates from EIU take out $23,420 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Public Relations & Advertising at Eastern Illinois University Report

#9

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular public relations and advertising programs. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#9

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

Olivet Nazarene University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular public relations and advertising programs. Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais.

Public Relations majors at Olivet Nazarene take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

Best Public Relations & Advertising Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Public Relations & Advertising Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 1,190
Ohio 634
Indiana 322
Wisconsin 288

One of 5 majors within the area of study, public relations and advertising has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 66,787
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 26 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 Bill Koplitz.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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