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2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid

5 Ranked Colleges
27 Degrees Awarded
$38,000 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 68,079 communication and media studies students received their degree, making the major the 9th most popular in the country. 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 California, there were 13,425 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,239 and $21,690 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 27 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree in communication and media studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent communication and media studies programs, but they also 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 5 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in California (With Aid)

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #1 spot on the list. Stanford University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford are $55,011.

Full Stanford Communication & Media Studies Report

#2

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 3 doctorate’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UCSB are $28,670.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at UCSB

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #3 spot on the list. University of California - San Diego is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s communications degrees to qualified students.

UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - San Diego are $28,631.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at UCSD

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Davis. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid. University of California - Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 2 doctorate’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis also took the #4 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Davis are $28,700.

Full University of California - Davis Communication & Media Studies Report

#5

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Southern California is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 doctorate’s communications degrees to qualified students.

USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at USC

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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.

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