With Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Illinois, you can live as close to or as far away from a big city as you would like and develop the skills needed to interact with others at the professional level. Though some students prefer living and studying in a big city like Chicago, others like the peace and quiet that smaller campuses in more rural areas provide. You’ll also find programs from colleges that have more strict guidelines regarding how students can act. The right program can even help prepare you for working in front of the camera as a reporter or broadcaster.
Judson University
Speech Communication & Performing Arts
Judson University believes that the time students spend in school will shape their characters and determine what they do and how they act once they leave. That is why the university requires that all students take general education courses in topics like philosophy, religion, history and science. Those courses can help you as a communications major too. Those majoring in this field can pick a minor in any subject, but the university recommends a minor in theater for those who want to act. A theater minor can teach you how to present yourself and speak in front of others too.
Communication Studies Major
Of the two Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Illinois that Judson University offers, one is a basic major in communication studies. This program covers three different areas of communication and requires that you take courses on theater, business and general speech. Those courses show you how to speak with others in a professional capacity as well as how to lead others and present yourself in front of a large group. As Judson is a religious institution of higher learning, many of the classes that you take will include some aspects of religious thought and your overall faith.
BA in Interdisciplinary Communication
Another option from Judson is a degree in interdisciplinary communication that requires you take some general education courses and then take 46 credits of communications and similar courses. You’ll take nine credits of communication arts courses that include language society and communication theory and application. The university asks that you do a senior research project also. Though you’ll have the chance to select some of the electives that you’ll take, the university requires that you take some specific courses. Those classes include media theory, archetypes of western literature and media writing. You can take other media and writing classes as well.
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Contact
1151 North State Street
Elgin, IL 60123
(847) 628-2500
Lake Forest College
Many of the professors working for Lake Forest College have years of experience with communications, and some of those teachers even won awards and published books and articles that garnered national attention. The college encourages students to declare a double major, which allows those students to study two different disciplines and still graduate within four years. You also have the option of doing a study abroad semester. Lake Forest can also help you find an internship. While some students work in the business industry or the nonprofit sector, the college gives you the chance to find an internship of your own too.
Communication
This program is one of the only Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Illinois that requires students do an internship in their junior years, though you can do a project of your own or meet another requirement in lieu of doing an internship. As a senior, you will need to either take a capstone class, write a thesis or do some type of final project to earn your degree. The courses in this program are quite diverse and include communications ethics, modern media history, media systems and institutions, history and theory of freedom of expression and rhetoric of law.
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Contact
555 North Sheridan Rd.
Lake Forest, IL 60045
(847) 234-3100
Lewis University
Communications
Lewis University is home to a communications department that offers a number of majors for students. Even if you decide to major in organizational communication and get your BA, you can still take courses designed for other majors such as those in the journalism program. This program features courses on the research that reporters do as well as the writing that professionals do. You can also take courses on radio and television broadcasting and public relations. The university has a television station, radio station and other opportunities on its campus for those who want to get some practical experience.
Organizational Communication, B.A.
As an organizational communication major, you will need to take 30 courses that make up the communications core. This core set of courses teach you all the fundamental information that you need and will help you develop better communications skills. Those courses include business communications, introduction to visual media, argumentation and debate, communication theory and persuasion theory and campaigns. As one of the top Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Illinois, this one lets you pick a related or unrelated minor, though not all students pick a minor. You’ll also have the chance to pick electives from other fields like marketing and political science.
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Contact
One University Parkway
Romeoville, IL 60446
(815) 838-0500
Lincoln Christian University
Lincoln Christian University is a religious educational institution that believes students can become highly educated without sacrificing their religious beliefs. In addition to some required religion courses that you will need to take, you also have the option of attending church services on the campus and signing up for organizations that let you meet with others who share your same beliefs. This university offers opportunities away from its campus too. You might help others and do a service learning project in Chicago or spend a semester or more working overseas or in another part of the country.
B.A. in Communication Studies
When comparing Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Illinois, you might look for programs that let you gain a better understanding and appreciation for your faith like this Lincoln Christian University program. The dean and director of this program actually teaches a few classes each semester and provides you with valuable information and tools that you won’t get from any other professor. Graduates of this program now work as writers, teachers and public relations specialists, though some went on to either graduate or law school too. It includes courses like argumentation and debate, rhetorical criticism, mass communication and rhetorical tradition.
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Contact
100 Campus View Dr.
Lincoln, IL 62656
(217) 732-3168
Loyola University Chicago
School of Communication
One of the top Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Illinois that has a great reputation is the one available from Loyola University Chicago. Located in this big city, the program provides opportunities for students in the form of field placements and internships. You can work for an advertising or public relations firm, do volunteer work at a nonprofit organization or work for one of the campus production stations. Loyola has its own radio and television stations as well as a campus newspaper. Its School of Communication offers minors and majors in fields like multimedia journalism and film and digital media.
B.A. Communication Studies
Loyola gives communication students the right to take some lower level classes as a freshmen, which helps broaden their horizons and prepares them for all their upper level courses. In addition to general education courses, you’ll need to take 40 credits of communications classes that include 10 hours of core courses, six hours of theory classes and six credits of applied communications courses. All students get three credits for the research work they do as part of a capstone class, but students will need to pick 12 credits of electives too. You can do an internship to fulfill a required community credit also.
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Contact
820 N. Michigan Ave,
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 915-6548
McKendree University
McKendree University knows that all students are different, which is why it offers so many different programs for incoming students. While it offers traditional undergrad and graduate classes, it also has an online program designed for those with less time. Those online programs are great for parents taking care of children and working professionals who just can’t make the drive to the Lebanon campus every week. Its communication program teaches students how to listen to others, develop a strategy based around a specific problem, become sensitive to the needs and beliefs of others and speak in front of crowds.
Communication
All students enrolling in this program must sit down with an adviser and create a four-year plan, which is why it ranks among the top Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Illinois. You will typically take four to five classes each semester as a full-time student. McKendree offers five different sequences that cover specific areas of communications and lets you pick which classes to take from each one. You’ll take courses on marketing and sales communication, management communication, professional communication and human resources communication. This program includes 36 credits of core courses too like organizational behavior and principles of marketing.
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Contact
701 College Rd.
Lebanon, IL 62254
(800) 232-7228
Millikin University
College of Arts & Sciences
Millikin University wants its incoming students to feel confident that they made the right decision, which is why it offers a number of events on its campus each year. You can take a simple tour that lets you wander around the campus, learn about its history and hear some of the benefits of going there, or you can sign up for one of its open house events and meet with real professors from its top departments. The university has admissions and financial aid counselors who can help you fill out the application and find out about paying for school.
Communication
One of the best Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Illinois is this one from Millikin because the university encourages its students to do work away from its campus. As long as you have a 2.5 grade point average and completed some required courses, you can apply for an internship and either work with the university to find your placement or select one of your own. The program features a number of traditional courses as well as some unique classes. You’ll have the chance to take courses like introduction to the radio industry, media history, argumentation and advocacy and business conversations.
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Contact
1184 W. Main St.
Decatur, IL 62522
(800) 373-7733
Monmouth College
Before enrolling in the communication program at Monmouth College, which is one of the smallest Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Illinois, you can actually sign up and take a tour of the campus. Depending on when you visit, you may have the chance to actually take one of the classes that you would take as a freshman or meet with one of the professors from that department. The college uses a standard four-year plan and asks that students follow this plan to stay on track, but your adviser can help you pick electives and other classes to fulfill all your requirements.
Communication Studies
Though this program does give you some flexibility in terms of the electives that you take, it includes seven required classes that all students must take. You will need to take courses on mass media and modern society, freedom of expression and communication ethics, interpersonal communications and small group communication. There is also a colloquium that you take during your senior year, which lets you work with some of your peers in the program. You will also need to take two courses on journalism, writing or production. The college lets you do an internship or project in lieu of taking one of these classes.
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Contact
700 E. Broadway,
Monmouth, IL 61462
(800) 747-2687
Moody Bible Institute
Founded in 1886, the Moody Bible Institute is one of the oldest religious institutions of higher learning in the state, but this college is also home to one of the oldest Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Illinois. As it has an enrollment of less than 4,000 students, this campus offers smaller class sizes and lets you form real connections with both your peers and your professors. Moody has a great location in the Near North Side neighborhood of Chicago, which offers internships and other professional opportunities for its students who want to practice the skills learned in their classes.
Communications Major
In addition to a newspaper and radio station, Moody has its own media lab that allows students to gain more experience doing independent research projects and working on different productions. The majority of students in its communications program follow the same four-year plan that requires they take up to six classes in a semester. You will need to take some required religion classes such as spiritual life and the community, systematic theology and Bible study methods. The institute offers various communications classes that include introduction to communications. You will also do at least one practicum and work as part of a small team.
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Contact
820 N. LaSalle Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60610
(800) 356-6639
Finding the best Illinois program for you requires looking at all the top programs and the benefits that each one has. You can find out more about admissions requirements, the reasons students choose to attend and the classes that students take in all the top Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Illinois.
See also:
- Bachelor’s in Communications Programs in Illinois (A-D)
- Bachelor’s in Communications Programs in Illinois (E-I)
- Bachelor’s in Communications Programs in Illinois (N-R)
- Bachelor’s in Communications Programs in Illinois (S-Z)