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2024 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa

10 Colleges in Iowa
473 Communications Degrees Awarded
$34,619 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #10 in popularity, communication & media studies is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 10 schools in Iowa to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of communication & media studies. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 473 degrees in communication & media studies during the 2021-2022 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School

Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa Your choice of communication & media studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for communication & media studies schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Communication & Media Studies Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Communications
Bachelor's Degrees in Communications
Master's Degrees in Communications
Doctor's Degrees in Communications

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Communication & Media Studies in Iowa

The schools below may not offer all types of communications degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Iowa Schools in Communications

1
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
186 Communications Degrees Awarded
$37,289 Median Starting Salary

University of Iowa is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in communication & media studies. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #84 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.

There were approximately 186 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from University of Iowa get an earnings boost of about $2,670 above the average income of communication & media studies majors.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of Iowa

2
Drake crest
Drake University
Des Moines, IA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In IA
38 Communications Degrees Awarded

Drake University is a wonderful option for students interested in a degree in communication & media studies. Drake is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Des Moines. A Best Colleges rank of #224 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Drake is a great university overall.

There were roughly 38 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Drake in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Drake University

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
65 Communications Degrees Awarded
$38,232 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Iowa State University if you want to pursue a degree in communication & media studies. Iowa State is a very large public university located in the city of Ames. A Best Colleges rank of #75 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.

There were about 65 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from Iowa State University receive $3,613 more than the standard communications grad.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Iowa State University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
38 Communications Degrees Awarded
$35,882 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in communication & media studies needs to check out University of Northern Iowa. UNI is a medium-sized public university located in the small city of Cedar Falls. A Best Colleges rank of #199 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.

There were approximately 38 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the communications program earn around $35,882 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of Northern Iowa

5
Luther crest
Luther College
Decorah, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
43.8% Growth in Graduates
$33,709 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Decorah, Luther is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #372 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Luther is a great college overall.

There were roughly 16 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Luther in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, communications degree recipients usually make around $33,709 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Luther College

6
Coe crest
Coe College
Cedar Rapids, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
13th Most Popular In IA

Coe is a small private not-for-profit college located in the medium-sized city of Cedar Rapids. This college ranks 22nd out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were roughly 7 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Coe in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Coe College

7
Loras crest
Loras College
Dubuque, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
20.0% Growth in Graduates
$37,403 Median Starting Salary

Loras is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small city of Dubuque. This college ranks 16th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were about 10 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Loras in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the communication & media studies major at Loras College make $2,784 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Loras College

8
Wartburg crest
Wartburg College
Waverly, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$32,087 Median Starting Salary
$26,750 Median Student Debt

Wartburg is a small private not-for-profit college located in the distant town of Waverly. This college ranks 15th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were roughly 15 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Wartburg in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program report average early career income of $32,087.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Wartburg College

9
Waldorf crest
Waldorf University
Forest City, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
46.7% Growth in Graduates
$30,024 Median Starting Salary

Waldorf is a small private for-profit university located in the remote town of Forest City. This university ranks 13th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were about 30 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Waldorf in the most recent data year. After graduation, communications degree recipients usually make an average of $30,024 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Waldorf University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$32,383 Median Starting Salary

UD is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Dubuque. This university ranks 33rd out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were about 14 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UD in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the communications program make an average of $32,383 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of Dubuque

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
Minnesota284876
Missouri2831,003
Kansas266489
Nebraska238156
North Dakota210131
South Dakota204159

View All Rankings >

One of 5 majors within the Communication & Journalism area of study, Communication & Media Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Communications Focus Areas

MajorAnnual Graduates
Speech Communication376
Other Communication & Media Studies38
Communication & Media Studies37
Communications22

View All Communications Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Communications

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Public Relations & Advertising241
Journalism227
Radio, Television & Digital Communication92

View All Communications Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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