2025 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region
92Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
8,345Communications Degrees Awarded
$36,850Avg Early-Career Salary
Communication & Media Studies is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #10 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
College Factual reviewed 92 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of communication & media studies. Combined, these schools handed out 8,345 degrees in communication & media studies to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School
Your choice of communication & media studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Communication & Media Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that 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
The communications school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Communication & Media Studies in the Great Lakes Region
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the communications degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
18 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Communications
Northwestern University is a wonderful option for students interested in a degree in communication & media studies. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were roughly 93 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from Northwestern University earn a boost of approximately $30,429 above the typical earnings of communication & media studies graduates.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in communication & media studies. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were about 260 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the communication & media studies program at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn $13,706 above the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Michigan State University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in communication & media studies. Michigan State is a very large public university located in the city of East Lansing. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 470 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the communications program make about $36,390 in their early career salary.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great option for students pursuing a degree in communication & media studies. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 327 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the communications program earn an average of $37,808 in the first couple years of their career.
UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were roughly 270 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, communications degree recipients typically earn about $37,286 in their early careers.
Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.
There were approximately 458 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, communications degree recipients usually earn around $36,700 in the first five years of their career.
Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 498 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from Ohio State University - Main Campus receive $4,382 more than the average communications student.
Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #65 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.
There were approximately 445 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from Purdue University - Main Campus get an earnings boost of around $19,676 above the typical income of communication & media studies graduates.
Located in the city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 245 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus make $4,288 more than the average communications student.
Located in the town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were approximately 300 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at OHIO Athens in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program state that they receive average early career income of $36,666.
DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.
There were about 132 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, communications degree recipients typically earn around $36,136 in the first five years of their career.
Located in the midsize city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 8th out of 91 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were roughly 146 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UDayton in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from University of Dayton receive $5,779 more than the average communications student.
Located in the large suburb of Kent, Kent State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 9th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were about 163 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Kent State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the communications program earn about $35,804 in their early career salary.
Illinois State is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Normal. This university ranks 8th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 175 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from Illinois State University earn a boost of around $2,267 above the typical earnings of communication & media studies graduates.
Located in the distant town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were roughly 100 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UW - Whitewater in the most recent data year. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater earn $2,517 more than the standard communications graduate.
UWM is a very large public university located in the large city of Milwaukee. This university ranks 23rd out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were approximately 222 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UWM in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, communications degree recipients generally earn an average of $38,040 in the first five years of their career.
Marquette is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Milwaukee. A Best Colleges rank of #114 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Marquette is a great university overall.
There were roughly 43 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Marquette in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the communications program make an average of $36,443 for their early career.
Located in the town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #134 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Miami University - Oxford is a great university overall.
There were about 40 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Miami University - Oxford 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 $34,959.
Rest of the Top Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Communication & Media Studies students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
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).
Your choice of communication & media studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Communication & Media Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
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