2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Rocky Mountains Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Communications Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Communication & Media Studies is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 9th of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 68,079 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2017-2018, communication and media studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,728 and had an average of $24,931 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 3,210 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,007 and $23,997 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 164 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,967 and $17,711 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Communications Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in communication and media studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great communication and media studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the communication and media studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Communication & Media Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Communications Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Communications Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Communications Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Rocky Mountains Region

#1

Salt Lake Community College

Salt Lake City, Utah

#1 in overall quality

$5,786 Average Net Price

$40,647 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Salt Lake Community College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Salt Lake Community College is a large school located in Salt Lake City, Utah that handed out 41 associates’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

Salt Lake Community College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. It costs about $5,786 for Rocky Mountains Region Associate Degree Communications students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Salt Lake Community College.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Salt Lake Community College

#2

Weber State University

Ogden, Utah

#2 in overall quality

$9,790 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Weber State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Weber State University is a large school located in Ogden, Utah that handed out 20 associates’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

WSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for WSU is $9,790 for Rocky Mountains Region Associate Degree Communications students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full WSU Communication & Media Studies Report

#3

Utah Valley University

Orem, Utah

#3 in overall quality

$7,334 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Utah Valley University landed the #3 spot on the list. UVU is a large school located in Orem, Utah that handed out 2 associates’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

UVU also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $7,334 for Rocky Mountains Region Associate Degree Communications students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UVU.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at UVU

#4

Colorado Christian University

Lakewood, Colorado

#4 in overall quality

$22,122 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Colorado Christian University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Communications Schools for an Associate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k. This medium-sized school is located in Lakewood, Colorado, and it awarded 5 associates’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region associate degree communications students whose families make $0-$30k list, CCU has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for CCU is $22,122 for rocky mountains region associate degree communications students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at CCU

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies (Income $0-$30k)

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to UNU-WIDER from Helsinki, Finland.

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