2023 Best Journalism Associate Degree Schools

Journalism is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #110 most popular associate degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual reviewed 2 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for associate degree seekers in the field of journalism. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 676 associate degrees in journalism during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Early-Career Earnings

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on journalism students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other journalism students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for journalism to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized journalism related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for journalism students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Journalism Associate Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Journalism in the United States

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for journalism students seeking a an associate degree.

Top Schools for an Associate in Journalism

1

Austin Community College District
Austin, TX

22 Annual Graduates

Austin Community College District is a wonderful choice for students pursuing an associate degree in journalism. Austin Community College District is a very large public college located in the large city of Austin.More information about a associate in journalism from Austin Community College District

2

San Diego Mesa College
San Diego, CA

7 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in journalism needs to check out San Diego Mesa College. Located in the city of San Diego, San Diego Mesa College is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in journalism from San Diego Mesa College

Journalism by Region

View the Best Journalism Associate Degree Schools 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 >

Rankings in Majors Related to Journalism

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	607
Broadcast Journalism	58
Photojournalism	6
Other Journalism	5

Most Popular Majors Related to Journalism

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies	6,434
Radio, Television & Digital Communication	1,367
Public Relations & Advertising	448
Communication & Journalism (Other)	71

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Jfurrer. More about our data sources and methodologies.