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2025 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

40 Colleges in California
7,332 Bachelor's Degrees
$38,946 Avg Early-Career Salary
Communication & Media Studies is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #5 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 40 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 7,332 bachelor's degrees in communication & media studies during the 2021-2022 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of communication & media studies for getting your bachelor'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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor'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 ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

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 bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Communication & Media Studies in California

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Communications

1
326 Annual Graduates
$47,651 Median Starting Salary
$41,981 Median Student Debt

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California earn $8,705 more than the standard communications graduate.

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

2
582 Annual Graduates
$46,598 Median Starting Salary
$19,704 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat University of California - Santa Barbara if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.

Bachelor's recipients from the communication & media studies program at University of California - Santa Barbara get $7,652 above the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University of California - Santa Barbara

3
293 Annual Graduates
$42,569 Median Starting Salary
$21,707 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat University of California - Davis if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. UC Davis is a very large public university located in the small suburb of Davis.

Bachelor's recipients from the communication & media studies program at University of California - Davis get $3,623 more than the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University of California - Davis

4
258 Annual Graduates
$43,696 Median Starting Salary
$36,000 Median Student Debt

University of California - Berkeley is a good choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the communication & media studies program at University of California - Berkeley earn $4,750 above the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University of California - Berkeley

5
278 Annual Graduates
$33,046 Median Starting Salary
$22,345 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the communications program make about $33,046 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University of California - San Diego

6
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
137 Annual Graduates
$51,720 Median Starting Salary
$61,602 Median Student Debt

SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara.

Communication & Media Studies bachelor's degree recipients from Santa Clara University get an earnings boost of around $12,774 above the typical income of communication & media studies majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Santa Clara University

7
264 Annual Graduates
$40,790 Median Starting Salary
$16,768 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the communications program report average early career wages of $40,790.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from San Francisco State University

8
104 Annual Graduates
$44,601 Median Starting Salary
$49,535 Median Student Debt

Located in the medium-sized city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from Chapman University make $5,655 more than the typical communications graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Chapman University

9
290 Annual Graduates
$37,773 Median Starting Salary
$29,825 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the communications program make an average of $37,773 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from San Diego State University

10
125 Annual Graduates
$41,113 Median Starting Salary
$67,914 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from Loyola Marymount University earn $2,167 more than the standard communications student.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Loyola Marymount University

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 1,076
Oregon 185 382
Nevada 129 318
Hawaii 112 244
Alaska 75 7

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Communication & Media Studies is one of 5 different types of Communication & Journalism programs to choose from.

Communications Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Speech Communication 5,236
Communications 1,635
Communication & Media Studies 418
Other Communication & Media Studies 43

Related Major Annual Graduates
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 1,225
Journalism 1,039
Public Relations & Advertising 715
Communication & Journalism (Other) 10
Publishing 1

Notes and References

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