College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools

210 Colleges in the United States
4,407 Master's Degrees
$47,692 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.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 210 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for communication & media studies students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 4,407 master's degrees in communication & media studies to qualified students.

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 quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this 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 complete 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 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 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 take a look at University of Southern California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the communication & media studies degree program at University of Southern California get $15,807 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

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

1

Northwestern University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the communication & media studies major at Northwestern University make $20,429 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

2

Columbia University in the City of New York is a great decision for individuals pursuing a master's degree in communication & media studies. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.

Master's recipients from the communication & media studies program at Columbia University in the City of New York get $47,791 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Columbia University in the City of New York

3
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
15 Annual Graduates

University of Pennsylvania is one of the finest 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 city of Philadelphia.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from University of Pennsylvania

4

Johns Hopkins University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Master's recipients from the communication & media studies major at Johns Hopkins University earn $26,538 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

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

5

Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population.

Communication & Media Studies master's degree recipients from Purdue University - Main Campus receive an earnings boost of around $15,192 over the average earnings of communication & media studies graduates.

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

6

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

Communication & Media Studies master's degree recipients from University of Denver get an earnings boost of about $6,621 over the typical earnings of communication & media studies majors.

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

7
8 Annual Graduates

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

7
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA

Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Communication & Media Studies master's degree recipients from Stanford University receive an earnings boost of approximately $5,156 over the typical earnings of communication & media studies majors.

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

8
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL

UF is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville.

Soon after graduation, communications master's recipients generally earn about $49,414 in their early careers.

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

9
11 Annual Graduates

UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

10
12 Annual Graduates

UGA is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Athens.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from University of Georgia

11
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
8 Annual Graduates

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

12
6 Annual Graduates

UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Minneapolis.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

13
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC

Located in the city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those communication & media studies students who get their master's degree from American University earn $11,613 more than the typical communications graduate.

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

14
7 Annual Graduates

UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from University of Wisconsin - Madison

15
8 Annual Graduates

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

16
Drake crest
Drake University
Des Moines, IA
41 Annual Graduates

Drake is a small private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Drake University

17
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
23 Annual Graduates

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

18

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

After graduating, communications master's recipients typically earn about $44,115 at the beginning of their careers.

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

19
Bryant crest
Bryant University
Smithfield, RI
4 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Smithfield, Bryant is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Bryant University

20
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA

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

Students who graduate with their master's from the communications program state that they receive average early career earnings of $34,361.

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

21
7 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from George Washington University

22
38 Annual Graduates

UA is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Tuscaloosa.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from The University of Alabama

23
9 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in communication & media studies from Indiana University - Bloomington

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

26
27
28
29
30
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
31
31

32

33

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
32 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
33 Florida International University Miami, FL
34 Clark University Worcester, MA
35 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ
36 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
37 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
38 Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO
39 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
40 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
41 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
42 Fairfield University Fairfield, CT

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

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 2,348
Communication & Media Studies 856
Communications 747
Other Communication & Media Studies 456

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Relations & Advertising 2,542
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 2,343
Journalism 1,181
Communication & Journalism (Other) 314
Publishing 210

Notes and References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options