College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2025 Best Journalism Schools in the Southwest Region

19 Colleges in the Southwest Region
1,605 Journalism Degrees Awarded
$36,123 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in journalism is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #69 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 19 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Journalism Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,605 degrees in journalism annually.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Journalism School

Best Journalism Schools in the Southwest Region Your choice of journalism school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Journalism School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Journalism Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Journalism
Bachelor's Degrees in Journalism
Master's Degrees in Journalism
Doctor's Degrees in Journalism

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Journalism Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

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.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Journalism in the Southwest Region

The schools below may not offer all types of journalism degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools in Journalism

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
156 Journalism Degrees Awarded
$39,336 Median Starting Salary

The University of Texas at Austin is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in journalism. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #46 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.

There were about 156 journalism students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the journalism major at The University of Texas at Austin get $3,213 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in journalism from The University of Texas at Austin

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
271 Journalism Degrees Awarded
$36,744 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat University of Oklahoma Norman Campus if you want to pursue a degree in journalism. Located in the suburb of Norman, University of Oklahoma is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #191 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means University of Oklahoma is a great university overall.

There were about 271 journalism students who graduated with this degree at University of Oklahoma in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the journalism program earn about $36,744 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in journalism from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
289 Journalism Degrees Awarded
$38,118 Median Starting Salary

University of North Texas is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in journalism. Located in the city of Denton, UNT is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 13th out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were about 289 journalism students who graduated with this degree at UNT in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, journalism degree recipients generally earn an average of $38,118 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in journalism from University of North Texas

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
208 Journalism Degrees Awarded
$42,737 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in journalism needs to check out Arizona State University - Tempe. ASU - Tempe is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Tempe. A Best Colleges rank of #108 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.

There were roughly 208 journalism students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent year we have data available. Those journalism students who get their degree from Arizona State University - Tempe make $6,614 more than the typical journalism grad.

More information about a degree in journalism from Arizona State University - Tempe

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
75 Journalism Degrees Awarded
$35,675 Median Starting Salary

Baylor is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Waco. A Best Colleges rank of #150 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Baylor is a great university overall.

There were about 75 journalism students who graduated with this degree at Baylor in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the journalism program earn about $35,675 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in journalism from Baylor University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
72 Journalism Degrees Awarded
$36,521 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #110 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means University of Arizona is a great university overall.

There were roughly 72 journalism students who graduated with this degree at University of Arizona in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the journalism program make an average of $36,521 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in journalism from University of Arizona

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In TX
42 Journalism Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #142 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SMU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 42 journalism students who graduated with this degree at SMU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in journalism from Southern Methodist University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In TX
38 Journalism Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #112 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means TCU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 38 journalism students who graduated with this degree at TCU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in journalism from Texas Christian University

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
59 Journalism Degrees Awarded
$36,226 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Houston, UH is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 14th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were approximately 59 journalism students who graduated with this degree at UH in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the journalism program earn about $36,226 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in journalism from University of Houston

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
38 Journalism Degrees Awarded
42.1% Growth in Graduates

Texas Tech is a very large public university located in the large city of Lubbock. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Texas Tech is a great university overall.

There were about 38 journalism students who graduated with this degree at Texas Tech in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, journalism degree recipients typically make about $29,622 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in journalism from Texas Tech University

Best Journalism Colleges by State

Explore the best journalism colleges for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 317 888
Arizona 287 362
Oklahoma 257 436
New Mexico 219 70

View All Rankings >

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

Journalism Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Journalism 1,213
Other Journalism 230
Broadcast Journalism 147
Photojournalism 15

View All Journalism Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Journalism

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 6,617
Public Relations & Advertising 2,679
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 2,374
Communication & Journalism (Other) 18
Publishing 4

View All Journalism Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options