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2025 Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools

98 Colleges in the United States
4,685 Master's Degrees
$52,174 Avg Early-Career Salary
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 98 schools in the United States 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 4,685 master's degrees in communication & media studies during the <nil> academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools Your choice of communication & media studies for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Communications Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Communication & Media Studies in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in communication & media studies. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

19 Top Schools for a Master's in Communications

1

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in communication & media studies has to look into University of Southern California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Master's recipients from the communication & media studies degree program at University of Southern California get $16,413 above the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from University of Southern California

2
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
10 Annual Graduates

University of Pennsylvania is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in communication & media studies. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from University of Pennsylvania

3
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC

It is hard to beat American University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Those communication & media studies students who get their master's degree from American University earn $16,125 more than the typical communications graduate.

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

4

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in communication & media studies has to check out Purdue University - Main Campus. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those communication & media studies students who get their master's degree from Purdue University - Main Campus receive $17,938 more than the standard communications grad.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Purdue University - Main Campus

5

Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those communication & media studies students who get their master's degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill receive $4,460 more than the standard communications grad.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

6
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA

Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova.

Master's students who receive their degree from the communications program make an average of $50,854 in the first couple years of working.

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

7

DU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Denver.

Those communication & media studies students who get their master's degree from University of Denver make $11,609 more than the standard communications graduate.

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

8
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL

UF is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Gainesville.

Master's recipients from the communication & media studies degree program at University of Florida earn $6,822 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

9
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
15 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Syracuse University

10
24 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Waco, Baylor is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Baylor University

11
13 Annual Graduates

UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the city of Austin.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from The University of Texas at Austin

12

UGA is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Athens.

Students who graduate with their master's from the communications program report average early career wages of $33,150.

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

13
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA

Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the communications program report average early career income of $34,000.

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

14
Wake Forest University crest
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC
10 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Wake Forest University

15
JMU crest
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA
12 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from James Madison University

16
14 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Lexington, UK is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from University of Kentucky

17

Located in the city of Tuscaloosa, UA is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the communication & media studies program at The University of Alabama get $7,737 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from The University of Alabama

18
Auburn crest
Auburn University
Auburn, AL
13 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Auburn, Auburn is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Auburn University

19
Marquette crest
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI
16 Annual Graduates

Marquette is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Milwaukee.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Marquette University

Rest of the Top Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Communication & Media Studies students that almost earned our Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
20 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
21 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ
22 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
23 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
24 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
25 Florida International University Miami, FL
26 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL
27 Washington State University Pullman, WA
28 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI
29 DePaul University Chicago, IL
30 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
31 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI
32 San Diego State University San Diego, CA

Communication & Media Studies by Region

View the Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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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 Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Speech Communication 2,257
Communication & Media Studies 1,166
Communications 711
Other Communication & Media Studies 551

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Relations & Advertising 3,129
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 2,951
Journalism 1,525
Communication & Journalism (Other) 488
Publishing 213

Notes and References

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