2023 Best Value Communication & Journalism Master's Degree Schools in Illinois
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Communication & Journalism Master's Degree School for You
Communication & Journalism is the #12 most popular major in Illinois with 4,261 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 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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Communication & Journalism Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 15 schools in Illinois to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for communication and journalism students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best Communication & Journalism Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Columbia College Chicago the best value school in Illinois for communication and journalism students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Columbia are $2,350 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.
Illinois State graduate students pay an average of $9,773 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Illinois State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.
Full Communication & Journalism at Illinois State University Report
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Eastern Illinois University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value communication and journalism schools in Illinois. Located in the distant town of Charleston, EIU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at EIU are $10,640 a year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
UIUC graduate students pay an average of $17,823 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
UIUC also made our Best Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #3.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Out of the 15 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Governors State University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of University Park, GSU is a public school with a small student population.
GSU graduate students pay an average of $8,320 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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Northern Illinois University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at NIU are $11,390 a year.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Northern Illinois University
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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. SIUE is a large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.
SIUE graduate students pay an average of $9,316 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
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Northeastern Illinois University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Northeastern Illinois University is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Chicago.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Northeastern Illinois University are $9,428 per year.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Northeastern Illinois University
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University of Illinois at Springfield landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree communication and journalism programs. UIS is a small public school located in the city of Springfield.
UIS graduate students pay an average of $11,111 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Full Communication & Journalism at University of Illinois at Springfield Report
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Western Illinois University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Journalism Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at WIU are $12,182 per year.
Request InformationBest Value Communication & Journalism Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Value Communication & Journalism Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Indiana | 2,714 |
| Michigan | 3,555 |
| Ohio | 3,901 |
| Wisconsin | 1,988 |
More Communication & Journalism Rankings in Illinois
Majors Related to Communication & Journalism
Communication & Journalism Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Communication & Media Studies | 66,787 |
| Public Relations & Advertising | 21,099 |
| Radio, Television & Digital Communication | 17,669 |
| Journalism | 13,552 |
| Communication & Journalism (Other) | 1,128 |
| Publishing | 336 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Education | 327,871 |
| Social Sciences | 205,984 |
| Psychology | 195,678 |
| Family, Consumer & Human Sciences | 55,820 |
| History | 32,731 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 15 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 Josh Hallett.
More about our data sources and methodologies.