Of course, you want to study journalism in Chicago. Not only is it a great city, it’s a great place to study journalism. There are some absolutely great universities to study at and what’s more, it’s Chicago! A global city that is well known for its universities, its 29 miles of lake frontage and, of course, the huge amount of wind.

Do you need any more reason than that? But if this is where you want to go, then you need to know where the best places are to study. And so let’s take a look at some of the best options that are out there. Here they are, in no particular order.

Northwestern University

Let’s start with the biggest and most illustrious university. That has to be Northwestern University. Did you know that this school has produced over 30 Pulitzer Prize winners? That’s just an insane amount!

Of course, it does show. The school is hard to get into with it just having a 13% acceptance rate in 2014. Of course, that does mean you’re in the number 12 university in the country overall. You’ll just have to make sure you’ve got perfect grades if you do decide to go!

The university offers both a bachelor degree and a master degree in the science of journalism. To get the bachelors you’ll have to complete 12 to 14 courses through the Medhill School of journalism.

The master degree takes four quarters to complete. You’ll be happy to know that you can attend it regardless of what major you managed to complete, so if you’re thinking about switching directions here is your chance (yes, you’ll still need perfect grades). 

Loyola University Chicago

That seems a bit hard? Then think about Loyola University Chicago. Here the acceptance rate is a bit higher at 63%. Don’t think that this makes the school a shame have on your resume, however! It’s still a very well respected school.

Of course, you should probably have to have at least a passing familiarity with the Jesuit faith, as this is a Jesuit campus. Still, it’s located in the actual city, so even if that’s not exactly your cup of tea you can easily get away from it all and hit the windy city for a way to depress.

The university only offers a bachelor of arts in Journalism. For that, you’ve got to complete 39 hours of coursework focused on communication and journalism. That sounds manageable, doesn’t it?

There is also a well-known school newspaper that you can write for known as the Loyola Phoenix.

DePaul University

At DePaul, you can attend courses in the direction of Journalism, media and cinema studies, public relations and advertising. The great thing is that you can choose to just go for a bachelor, a bachelor and master combination that spans five years or just attending the master degree, which is two. In the first case, you’ll get a BA, while in the latter two cases you’ll end up with an MA.

For the bachelor, you’ll need to complete 192 credits. The program is well known for giving you a good grounding in the latest technologies. There is also a huge amount of different types of writing, such as news writing, magazines, and even television courses if that’s what you’re interested in.

The combined bachelor and master saves you a year, which has to be a good thing if you’re dreaming to get into the industry, don’t you think? Then you can really go for it and get working for the top sites. To get in you need to apply during your junior year and then switch over to the program during their senior year.

The master, in the meantime, teaches responsibility in journalism, which you have to admit is something that we can use more of. It takes two years to complete.

Other universities

There are other programs available. For example, you can apply to the Illinois Institute of Technology, as well as the Roosevelt University. Two other universities which also offer you journalism are Dominican University and Elmhurst University. These aren’t located in the city proper, however. The first is located in Rover Forest and the second – as the name suggests – can be found in Elmhurst.