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2025 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa

8 Colleges in Iowa
473 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 reviewed 8 schools in Iowa to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of communication & media studies. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 473 degrees in communication & media studies annually.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School

Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa Your choice of communication & media studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. 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.

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

Associate Degrees in Communications
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 Iowa 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 Iowa

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.

Top Iowa Schools in Communications

1
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
186 Communications Degrees Awarded
$37,647 Median Starting Salary

University of Iowa is a great decision for students interested in a degree in communication & media studies. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.

There were approximately 186 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Iowa 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 wages of $37,647.

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

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
65 Communications Degrees Awarded
$40,497 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat Iowa State University if you wish to pursue a degree in communication & media studies. Iowa State is a very large public university located in the small city of Ames. A Best Colleges rank of #88 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.

There were about 65 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from Iowa State University make $3,647 more than the standard communications grad.

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

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
38 Communications Degrees Awarded
$40,558 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in communication & media studies needs to look into University of Northern Iowa. UNI is a medium-sized public university located in the small city of Cedar Falls. A Best Colleges rank of #270 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.

There were approximately 38 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the communication & media studies major at University of Northern Iowa earn $3,708 more than the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

4
Drake crest
Drake University
Des Moines, IA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In IA
38 Communications Degrees Awarded

Drake University is a good option for students pursuing a degree in communication & media studies. Drake is a small private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines. A Best Colleges rank of #340 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Drake is a great university overall.

There were roughly 38 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Drake in the most recent year we have data available.

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

5
Luther crest
Luther College
Decorah, IA

Located in the town of Decorah, Luther is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 9th out of 37 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 16 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Luther in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from Luther College make $5,162 more than the typical communications graduate.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Luther College

6
Loras crest
Loras College
Dubuque, IA

Loras is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small city of Dubuque. This college ranks 29th out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were roughly 10 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Loras in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the communications program earn around $36,821 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Loras College

7
Wartburg crest
Wartburg College
Waverly, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$40,255 Median Starting Salary

Wartburg is a small private not-for-profit college located in the distant town of Waverly. This college ranks 15th out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 15 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Wartburg in the most recent data year. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from Wartburg College earn $3,405 more than the typical communications student.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Wartburg College

8
Waldorf crest
Waldorf University
Forest City, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In IA
46.7% Growth in Graduates

Waldorf is a small private for-profit university located in the remote area of Forest City. This university ranks 14th out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 30 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Waldorf in the most recent year we have data available.

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

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 284 876
Missouri 283 1,003
Kansas 266 489
Nebraska 238 156
North Dakota 210 131
South Dakota 204 159

View All Rankings >

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 376
Other Communication & Media Studies 38
Communication & Media Studies 37
Communications 22

View All Communications Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Communications

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Relations & Advertising 241
Journalism 227
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 92

View All Communications Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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