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2025 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Tennessee

12 Colleges in Tennessee
899 Communications Degrees Awarded
$36,850 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 looked at 12 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Tennessee ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 899 degrees in communication & media studies to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School

Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Tennessee The communications program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Communication & Media Studies rankings. 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.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Communication & Media Studies Rankings by Degree Level

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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee

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 Tennessee Schools in Communications

1
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In TN
32 Communications Degrees Awarded

Any student pursuing a degree in communication & media studies has to look into Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.

There were about 32 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available.

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

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
175 Communications Degrees Awarded
$41,258 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in communication & media studies needs to take a look at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville. Located in the midsize city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #226 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UT Knoxville is a great university overall.

There were about 175 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UT Knoxville in the most recent data year. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville earn $4,408 more than the standard communications graduate.

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

3
Belmont crest
Belmont University
Nashville, TN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
48 Communications Degrees Awarded
$41,889 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat Belmont University if you wish to pursue a degree in communication & media studies. Belmont is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #237 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Belmont is a great university overall.

There were about 48 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Belmont in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from Belmont University earn $5,039 more than the typical communications grad.

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

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
113 Communications Degrees Awarded
$29,877 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in communication & media studies needs to check out Middle Tennessee State University. Middle Tennessee State University is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Murfreesboro. This university ranks 18th out of 41 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were approximately 113 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Middle Tennessee State University in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program state that they receive average early career wages of $29,877.

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

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
83 Communications Degrees Awarded
4.8% Growth in Graduates

UofM is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Memphis. A Best Colleges rank of #807 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UofM is a great university overall.

There were approximately 83 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UofM in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the communications program earn around $26,922 in their early career salary.

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

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
107 Communications Degrees Awarded
4.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #959 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UT Chattanooga is a great university overall.

There were roughly 107 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UT Chattanooga in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the communications program earn about $33,082 in their early career salary.

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

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
91 Communications Degrees Awarded
$27,674 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #802 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means ETSU is a great university overall.

There were about 91 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at ETSU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program state that they receive average early career wages of $27,674.

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

8
Lee University crest
Lee University
Cleveland, TN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In TN
5.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small city of Cleveland, Lee University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 17th out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were about 19 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Lee University in the most recent year we have data available.

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

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
77 Communications Degrees Awarded
$29,144 Median Starting Salary

Austin Peay State University is a moderately-sized public university located in the medium-sized city of Clarksville. This university ranks 25th out of 41 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were roughly 77 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Austin Peay State University in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the communications program earn around $29,144 in their early career salary.

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

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$26,803 Median Starting Salary

UT Martin is a moderately-sized public university located in the town of Martin. This university ranks 32nd out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were about 21 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UT Martin in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program state that they receive average early career earnings of $26,803.

More information about a degree 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
Georgia 287 795
Florida 282 2,964
North Carolina 279 2,968
Virginia 274 2,053
South Carolina 248 796
Kentucky 244 785
Louisiana 242 815
Mississippi 234 307
Arkansas 234 457
Alabama 233 967
West Virginia 207 214

View All Rankings >

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

Communications Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 383
Speech Communication 272
Communications 190
Other Communication & Media Studies 54

View All Communications Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Communications

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Relations & Advertising 289
Journalism 264
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 37
Communication & Journalism (Other) 35
Publishing 12

View All Communications Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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