by our College Data Analytics Team
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Communication & Journalism is the 11th most popular major in the country with 116,994 degrees awarded in 2021-2022. In , communication & journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $34,306 and had an average of $24,240 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Plains States region, there were 6,260 communication & journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,963 and $23,803 respectively.
This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region” ranking analyzed 171 colleges that offered a degree in communication & journalism. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their communication & journalism program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region” 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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region communication & journalism students.
Out of the 171 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Bethany Lutheran College landed the #1 spot on the list. BLC is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Mankato, Minnesota. It awarded 24 ’s communication & journalism degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Drake University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 118 degrees to qualified ’s communication & journalism students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Communication & Journalism at Drake University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Missouri - Columbia. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. Columbia, Missouri is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s communication & journalism degrees to 651 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at University of Missouri - Columbia
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend College of the Ozarks. The school came in at #4 for the Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region. Located in Point Lookout, Missouri, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 17 degrees to qualified ’s communication & journalism students in 2021-2022.
Out of the 171 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Nebraska - Lincoln landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Lincoln, Nebraska, and it awarded 399 ’s communication & journalism degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Saint Johns University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #6. Collegeville, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s communication & journalism degrees to 25 students in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Saint Johns University
With a ranking of #7, College of Saint Benedict did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. Saint Joseph, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s communication & journalism degrees to 31 students in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #8, Drury University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. Drury University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Springfield, Missouri. The school has a small population, and it awarded 33 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Communication & Journalism at Drury University
University of Kansas did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #9. Lawrence, Kansas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s communication & journalism degrees to 425 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Communication & Journalism at University of Kansas
Southeast Missouri State University ranked #10 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. Southeast Missouri State University is located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 134 ’s communication & journalism degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Southeast Missouri State University Communication & Journalism Report
With a ranking of #11, Bethel University Minnesota did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. Bethel University Minnesota is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 41 ’s communication & journalism degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Communication & Journalism at Bethel University Minnesota
Wartburg College ranked #12 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. Waverly, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s communication & journalism degrees to 15 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Harris - Stowe State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #13. Harris - Stowe State University is located in Saint Louis, Missouri and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 9 ’s communication & journalism degrees to qualified students.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full Harris - Stowe State University Communication & Journalism Report
University of Northern Iowa did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #14. University of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 119 ’s communication & journalism degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Northern Iowa Communication & Journalism Report
With a ranking of #15, Concordia College at Moorhead did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. This small school is located in Moorhead, Minnesota, and it awarded 18 ’s communication & journalism degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Concordia College Moorhead Communication & Journalism Report
Gustavus Adolphus College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #16. This small school is located in Saint Peter, Minnesota, and it awarded 36 ’s communication & journalism degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Gustavus Adolphus
Culver - Stockton College ranked #17 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. This small school is located in Canton, Missouri, and it awarded 7 ’s communication & journalism degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Culver - Stockton
With a ranking of #18, Nebraska Wesleyan University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. NWU is located in Lincoln, Nebraska and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 22 ’s communication & journalism degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Central College ranked #19 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. This small school is located in Pella, Iowa, and it awarded 8 ’s communication & journalism degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #20, University of Minnesota - Crookston did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. Crookston, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s communication & journalism degrees to 20 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full University of Minnesota - Crookston Communication & Journalism Report
With a ranking of #21, Loras College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. This small school is located in Dubuque, Iowa, and it awarded 21 ’s communication & journalism degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Loras College
Ottawa University - Ottawa landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Ottawa, Kansas, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 5 degrees to qualified ’s communication & journalism students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Ottawa University - Ottawa
Missouri Valley College ranked #23 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. Missouri Valley College is located in Marshall, Missouri and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 9 ’s communication & journalism degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Missouri Valley College
With a ranking of #24, Hastings College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region list. This small school is located in Hastings, Nebraska, and it awarded 13 ’s communication & journalism degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Hastings College
University of Northwestern - St Paul landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Communication & Journalism Major in the Plains States Region ranking. Saint Paul, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s communication & journalism degrees to 36 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Not only did these schools make the top 26 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
