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Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

15 Colleges
$21,791 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$35,627 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Communication & Journalism School for You

Communication & Journalism is the #15 most popular major in Illinois with 757 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 15 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best value programs for communication and 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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Communication & Journalism Colleges.

Top 10 Best Communication & Journalism Schools

$27,786 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Columbia College Chicago the best value school in Illinois for communication and journalism students. Columbia is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Columbia undergraduate students pay an average of $27,786 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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$13,968 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois list. Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Illinois State are $13,968 a year.

Illinois State also made our Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #5.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Illinois State University

#3

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL
$12,297 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Eastern Illinois University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois list. EIU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Charleston.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at EIU are $12,297 a year.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Eastern Illinois University

#4

Governors State University

University Park, IL
$10,108 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Governors State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois list. GSU is a small public school located in the rural area of University Park.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at GSU are $10,108 per year.

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$17,634 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 15 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the # 5 spot on the list. UIUC is a very large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIUC are $17,634 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UIUC is ranked #3 for overall quality for communication and journalism in Illinois.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

$14,738 Average Tuition & Fees

Northern Illinois University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value communication and journalism programs. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NIU are $14,738 a year.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Northern Illinois University

$11,496 Average Tuition & Fees

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a fairly large student population.

SIUE undergraduate students pay an average of $11,496 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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$12,064 Average Tuition & Fees

Northeastern Illinois University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large city of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Northeastern Illinois University undergraduate students pay an average of $12,064 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Communication & Journalism at Northeastern Illinois University Report

$12,053 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Illinois at Springfield did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for communication and journalism students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Springfield, UIS is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIS are $12,053 per year.

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$13,297 Average Tuition & Fees

Western Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for communication and journalism students. It came in at #10 on the list. WIU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.

WIU undergraduate students pay an average of $13,297 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Best 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 391
Ohio 199
Wisconsin 75
Michigan 298

Communication & Journalism Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 5,059
Public Relations & Advertising 2,828
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 2,562
Journalism 1,238
Communication & Journalism (Other) 341
Publishing 214

Majors Similar to Communication & Journalism

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 199,724
Psychology 42,013
Social Sciences 22,292
Library Science 5,929
History 4,391

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.

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