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2025 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee

12 Colleges in Tennessee
688 Bachelor's Degrees
$31,430 Avg Early-Career Salary
Communication & Media Studies is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #5 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 12 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 688 bachelor's degrees in communication & media studies to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee The communications bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality communications program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

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

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

More Ways to Rank Communication & Media Studies Schools

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When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Communication & Media Studies in Tennessee

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

10 Top Tennessee Schools for a Bachelor's in Communications

1
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
22 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Vanderbilt University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Vanderbilt University

2
130 Annual Graduates
$41,258 Median Starting Salary
$35,635 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat The University of Tennessee - Knoxville if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the medium-sized city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville receive $9,828 more than the typical communications grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

3
Belmont crest
Belmont University
Nashville, TN

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies has to take a look at Belmont University. Belmont is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville.

Communication & Media Studies bachelor's degree recipients from Belmont University receive an earnings boost of around $10,459 above the average earnings of communication & media studies majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Belmont University

4
93 Annual Graduates
$29,877 Median Starting Salary
$9,900 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat Middle Tennessee State University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. Middle Tennessee State University is a very large public university located in the city of Murfreesboro.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the communications program earn around $29,877 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Middle Tennessee State University

5

UofM is a fairly large public university located in the city of Memphis.

Soon after graduation, communications bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $26,922 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University of Memphis

6
96 Annual Graduates
$33,082 Median Starting Salary
$14,595 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public university with a large student population.

After graduating, communications bachelor's recipients usually earn an average of $33,082 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

7
65 Annual Graduates
$27,380 Median Starting Salary
$15,421 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduating, communications bachelor's recipients typically earn about $27,380 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from East Tennessee State University

8
Lee University crest
Lee University
Cleveland, TN

Located in the small city of Cleveland, Lee University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the communications program report average early career income of $27,365.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Lee University

9
26 Annual Graduates
$25,643 Median Starting Salary
$13,533 Median Student Debt

Austin Peay State University is a moderately-sized public university located in the city of Clarksville.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the communications program report average early career income of $25,643.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Austin Peay State University

10

UT Martin is a medium-sized public university located in the town of Martin.

Soon after graduating, communications bachelor's recipients usually earn an average of $26,803 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from The University of Tennessee - Martin

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 225 2,598
Georgia 224 680
North Carolina 213 2,828
Virginia 213 1,844
South Carolina 195 768
Kentucky 187 716
Alabama 184 857
Louisiana 171 765
Mississippi 169 261
Arkansas 167 441
West Virginia 147 132

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

Communications Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Speech Communication 249
Communication & Media Studies 220
Communications 181
Other Communication & Media Studies 38

Related Major Annual Graduates
Journalism 263
Public Relations & Advertising 242
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 25
Communication & Journalism (Other) 20
Publishing 17

Notes and References

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