2025 Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in Iowa

Communication & Media Studies is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #44 most popular master's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 2 schools in Iowa to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of communication & media studies. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 52 master's degrees in communication & media studies during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to communication & media studies students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other communication & media studies students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for communication & media studies to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized communication & media studies related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for communication & media studies students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Communication & Media Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in Iowa list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Communication & Media Studies in Iowa

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in communication & media studies.

Top Iowa Schools for a Master's in Communications

1

Drake University
Des Moines, IA

40 Annual Graduates

$56,361 Median Starting Salary

Drake University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Soon after graduating, communications master's recipients usually earn an average of $56,361 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Drake University

2

University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA

10 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in communication & media studies has to check out University of Northern Iowa. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from University of Northern Iowa

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.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Missouri	193	70
Minnesota	174	57
Kansas	149	37
Nebraska	123	11
North Dakota	115	6
South Dakota	89	22

View All Rankings >

Communication & Media Studies Related Rankings by Major

Communication & Media Studies is one of 5 different types of Communication & Journalism programs to choose from.

Communications Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Other Communication & Media Studies	40
Speech Communication	11
Communication & Media Studies	1

Most Popular Majors Related to Communications

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Journalism	31
Public Relations & Advertising	1

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 UNU-WIDER from Helsinki, Finland. More about our data sources and methodologies.