30 Best colleges for Communications and Public Relations in Illinois

Updated: March 02, 2025

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in Illinois ranked based on their research performance in Communications and Public Relations. A graph of 780K citations received by 22.3K academic papers made by 30 universities in Illinois was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

Champaign

For Communications and Public Relations

#19 in the United States

#22 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 44%
Average SAT: 1390
Average ACT: 32
Receiving Aid: 61%

2. University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago

For Communications and Public Relations

#32 in the United States

#37 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 79%
Average SAT: 1230
Average ACT: 29
Receiving Aid: 80%

3. Northwestern University

Evanston

For Communications and Public Relations

#36 in the United States

#41 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 7%
Average SAT: 1525
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $23,341

4. University of Chicago

Chicago

For Communications and Public Relations

#42 in the United States

#49 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 5%
Average SAT: 1540
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $27,979

5. DePaul University

Chicago

For Communications and Public Relations

#100 in the United States

#117 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 74%
Average SAT: 1235
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $32,129

6. Loyola University Chicago

Chicago

For Communications and Public Relations

#108 in the United States

#125 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 81%
Average SAT: 1250
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $37,592

7. Northern Illinois University

DeKalb

For Communications and Public Relations

#126 in the United States

#148 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Receiving Aid: 99%
Average Aid: $13,565
Enrollment: 15,504

8. Illinois State University

Normal

For Communications and Public Relations

#144 in the United States

#169 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Average SAT: 1120
Average ACT: 25
Receiving Aid: 98%

9. Southern Illinois University - Carbondale

Carbondale

For Communications and Public Relations

#156 in the United States

#183 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Average SAT: 1025
Average ACT: 24
Receiving Aid: 97%

10. Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago

For Communications and Public Relations

#176 in the United States

#204 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 55%
Average SAT: 1295
Average ACT: 28
Net Price: $25,001

11. Eastern Illinois University

Charleston

For Communications and Public Relations

#177 in the United States

#205 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 68%
Average SAT: 1000
Receiving Aid: 97%
Average Aid: $11,122

12. Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville

Edwardsville

For Communications and Public Relations

#311 in the United States

#349 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 97%
Average SAT: 1030
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 93%

13. Western Illinois University

Macomb

For Communications and Public Relations

#356 in the United States

#396 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Receiving Aid: 54%
Average Aid: $15,620
Enrollment: 7,073

14. Bradley University

Peoria

For Communications and Public Relations

#378 in the United States

#420 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Average SAT: 1195
Average ACT: 28
Net Price: $24,703

15. Illinois College

Jacksonville

For Communications and Public Relations

#415 in the United States

#463 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Average SAT: 1081
Average ACT: 22
Net Price: $17,255

16. University of Illinois at Springfield

Springfield

For Communications and Public Relations

#439 in the United States

#488 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 84%
Average SAT: 1110
Average ACT: 25
Receiving Aid: 98%

17. Governors State University

University Park

For Communications and Public Relations

#499 in the United States

#549 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Receiving Aid: 94%
Average Aid: $11,315
Enrollment: 4,337

18. Northeastern Illinois University

Chicago

For Communications and Public Relations

#508 in the United States

#558 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Receiving Aid: 90%
Average Aid: $12,560
Enrollment: 5,504

19. Wheaton College - Illinois

Wheaton

For Communications and Public Relations

#511 in the United States

#561 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Average SAT: 1350
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $31,346

20. Roosevelt University

Chicago

For Communications and Public Relations

#513 in the United States

#564 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Average SAT: 955
Average ACT: 25
Net Price: $21,503

21. Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington

For Communications and Public Relations

#523 in the United States

#574 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Average SAT: 1235
Average ACT: 27
Net Price: $31,310

22. Rush University

Chicago

For Communications and Public Relations

#595 in the United States

#650 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 33%
Enrollment: 2,782
Male:Female: 22:78
Founded: 1972

23. National Louis University

Chicago

For Communications and Public Relations

#625 in the United States

#682 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Net Price: $15,724
Receiving Aid: 89%
Average Aid: $9,722

24. Benedictine University

Lisle

For Communications and Public Relations

#673 in the United States

#735 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Net Price: $24,570
Receiving Aid: 94%
Average Aid: $21,484

25. Dominican University

River Forest

For Communications and Public Relations

#674 in the United States

#736 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Average SAT: 1037
Average ACT: 20
Net Price: $16,969

26. North Central College

Naperville

For Communications and Public Relations

#723 in the United States

#786 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 58%
Average SAT: 1173
Average ACT: 25
Net Price: $24,190

27. Saint Xavier University

Chicago

For Communications and Public Relations

#724 in the United States

#787 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 86%
Net Price: $11,943
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $30,290

28. Chicago State University

Chicago

For Communications and Public Relations

#765 in the United States

#829 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 41%
Receiving Aid: 97%
Average Aid: $19,111
Enrollment: 2,324

29. NorthShore University HealthSystem School of Nurse Anesthesia

Evanston

For Communications and Public Relations

#805 in the United States

#871 in North America

Enrollment: 75
Male:Female: 32:68

30. John Marshall Law School

Chicago

For Communications and Public Relations

#820 in the United States

#887 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Founded: 1899

Closest to Illinois states to learn Communications and Public Relations

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Indiana	17	27
Missouri	17	52
Iowa	7	46
Kentucky	11	51
Wisconsin	14	14
Tennessee	20	48
Ohio	30	16
Michigan	18	1
Arkansas	7	124
West Virginia	4	97
Minnesota	20	9
Mississippi	7	139
Kansas	8	64
Alabama	11	83
Virginia	23	23
Georgia	26	26
North Carolina	21	20
Oklahoma	8	58
Nebraska	6	54
South Carolina	12	44
Pennsylvania	54	2
South Dakota	3	296
District of Columbia	8	31
Louisiana	17	92
Maryland	16	12
New York	82	11
New Jersey	17	17
North Dakota	2	213
Connecticut	16	28
Texas	53	22
Vermont	4	137
Colorado	14	68
Massachusetts	40	4
Rhode Island	7	170
Florida	29	21
New Hampshire	6	93
Maine	6	217
Utah	7	70
Arizona	6	5
Idaho	3	200
Oregon	12	89
Washington	16	3
California	78	6
Puerto Rico	4	790
Hawaii	4	127