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2022 Most Popular Master's Degree Colleges for Journalism

76 Colleges in the United States
1,391 Master's Degrees
$41,022 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your master's degree in journalism, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #84 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many colleges that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2022 ranking, College Factual looked at 76 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the most popular for journalism students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 1,391 master's degrees in journalism to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Other Rankings

Choosing a Great Journalism School for Your Master's Degree

Most Popular Master's Degree Colleges for Journalism The journalism master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. We created our Most Popular Master's Degree Colleges for Journalism ranking to make it a little easier to choose the right one for you.

While being high in popularity does not always mean a school has a quality journalism program, it is a sign that a large number of students choose the school. Sometimes this is because the school offers a great educational experience, it is a good value, or it is highly focused on the program.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Associate Degrees in Journalism
Bachelor's Degrees in Journalism
Doctor's Degrees in Journalism
Overall Popularity in Journalism

This is not our only ranking, nor the only degree level we have ranked. In addition to this ranking, you may want to take at the rankings for different degree levels as called out above. You can also narrow your search by location by filtering for a certain area of the country. On top of that, you can visit our other rankings for journalism.


 

The following list ranks the most popular colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in journalism. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

11 Most Well Attended Schools for Journalism Students Working on Their Master's

1
251 Annual Master's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In NY
#1 Best Quality In NY

You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at Columbia University in the City of New York if you want to pursue a master's degree in journalism. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #1 in quality for master's degrees in journalism in New York.

There were approximately 251 journalism individuals who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.

Those journalism students who get their master's degree from Columbia University in the City of New York make $2,778 more than the typical journalism graduate.

More information about a master’s in journalism from Columbia University in the City of New York

2
120 Annual Master's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In IL
#1 Best Quality In IL

You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at Northwestern University if you want to pursue a master's degree in journalism. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for master's degrees in journalism in Illinois.

There were about 120 journalism students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available.

Students who graduate with their master's from the journalism program report average early career wages of $39,200.

More information about a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University

3
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
77 Annual Master's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In MA
#2 Best Quality In MA

You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at Boston University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in journalism. Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #2 in quality for master's degrees in journalism in Massachusetts.

There were roughly 77 journalism students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent data year.

Master's recipients from the journalism major at Boston University get $3,878 more than the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in journalism from Boston University

4
73 Annual Master's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In MO
#1 Best Quality In MO

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in journalism has to take a look at University of Missouri - Columbia. Mizzou is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Columbia. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #1 in quality for master's degrees in journalism in Missouri.

There were roughly 73 journalism individuals who graduated with this degree at Mizzou in the most recent data year.

Journalism master's degree recipients from University of Missouri - Columbia get an earnings boost of around $4,878 over the average earnings of journalism majors.

More information about a master’s in journalism from University of Missouri - Columbia

5
71 Annual Master's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In CA
#1 Best Quality In CA

USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for master's degrees in journalism in California.

There were approximately 71 journalism students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.

Journalism master's degree recipients from University of Southern California receive an earnings boost of approximately $2,378 over the average income of journalism graduates.

More information about a master’s in journalism from University of Southern California

6
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
55 Annual Master's Degrees
#2 Most Popular In NY
#3 Best Quality In NY

Syracuse is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Syracuse. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #3 in quality for master's degrees in journalism in New York.

There were approximately 55 journalism individuals who graduated with this degree at Syracuse in the most recent data year.

More information about a master’s in journalism from Syracuse University

7
49 Annual Master's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In GA
#1 Best Quality In GA

Located in the city of Athens, UGA is a public university with a fairly large student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for master's degrees in journalism in Georgia.

There were approximately 49 journalism students who graduated with this degree at UGA in the most recent data year.

After graduating, journalism master's recipients typically earn an average of $41,900 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in journalism from University of Georgia

8
Full Sail University crest
Full Sail University
Winter Park, FL
44 Annual Master's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In FL
#3 Best Quality In FL

Located in the large suburb of Winter Park, Full Sail University is a private for-profit university with a very large student population. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #3 in quality for master's degrees in journalism in Florida.

There were about 44 journalism students who graduated with this degree at Full Sail University in the most recent data year.

After graduation, journalism master's recipients generally make around $32,700 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in journalism from Full Sail University

9
St. Bonaventure crest
St. Bonaventure University
Saint Bonaventure, NY
42 Annual Master's Degrees
#3 Most Popular In NY
#2 Best Quality In NY

Located in the remote town of Saint Bonaventure, St. Bonaventure is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #2 in quality for master's degrees in journalism in New York.

There were roughly 42 journalism students who graduated with this degree at St. Bonaventure in the most recent year we have data available.

Master's recipients from the journalism program at St. Bonaventure University make $2,978 above the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in journalism from St. Bonaventure University

10
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
38 Annual Master's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In DC
#3 Best Quality In DC

The American University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #3 in quality for master's degrees in journalism in District of Columbia.

There were approximately 38 journalism students who graduated with this degree at The American University in the most recent data year.

More information about a master’s in journalism from American University

11
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
37 Annual Master's Degrees
#1 Most Popular In IA
#1 Best Quality In IA

Iowa is a very large public university located in the small city of Iowa City. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #1 in quality for master's degrees in journalism in Iowa.

There were about 37 journalism students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year.

More information about a master’s in journalism from University of Iowa

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Master's Degree Colleges for Journalism award.

Rank College Location
12 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ
13 University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln, NE
14 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
14 University of North Texas Denton, TX
14 Georgetown University Washington, DC
17 DePaul University Chicago, IL
18 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
19 University of Oregon Eugene, OR
19 Regent University Virginia Beach, VA

Journalism by Region

View the Most Popular Master's Degree Colleges for Journalism for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

One of 5 majors within the Communication & Journalism area of study, Journalism has other similar majors worth exploring.

Journalism Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Journalism 917
Other Journalism 441
Broadcast Journalism 25
Photojournalism 8

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 4,541
Public Relations & Advertising 2,276
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 1,872
Communication & Journalism (Other) 471
Publishing 185

Notes and References

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