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2024 Best Communication & Journalism Schools

671 Colleges in the United States
120,571 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$34,266 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in communication & journalism is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #11 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 671 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Communication & Journalism Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 120,571 degrees in communication & journalism to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Communication & Journalism School

Best Communication & Journalism Schools Your choice of communication & journalism school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for communication & journalism schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

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

Communication & Journalism Rankings by Degree Level

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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Communication & Journalism Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Communication & Journalism in the United States

The schools below may not offer all types of communication & journalism degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools in Communication & Journalism

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
823 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$52,939 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in communication & journalism has to take a look at Northwestern University. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were about 823 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from Northwestern University receive $18,674 more than the standard communication & journalism graduate.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
908 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$48,610 Median Starting Salary

University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in communication & journalism. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #12 out of 2,238 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 908 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from University of Southern California make $14,344 more than the average communication & journalism graduate.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of Southern California

3
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
96 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$50,120 Median Starting Salary

University of Pennsylvania is a great option for students pursuing a degree in communication & journalism. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.

There were approximately 96 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania get an earnings boost of around $15,854 above the average income of communication & journalism graduates.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of Pennsylvania

4
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
176 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$76,798 Median Starting Salary

Georgetown University is a great decision for students interested in a degree in communication & journalism. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.

There were roughly 176 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent data year. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from Georgetown University get an earnings boost of about $42,532 over the typical earnings of communication & journalism graduates.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Georgetown University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
277 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
11.2% Growth in Graduates

U-M is a very large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,238 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were approximately 277 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the communication & journalism major at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn $11,495 more than the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
248 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$70,230 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,238 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were roughly 248 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from Columbia University in the City of New York earn a boost of about $35,964 over the average income of communication & journalism graduates.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Columbia University in the City of New York

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
151 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
15.2% Growth in Graduates

Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Baltimore. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.

There were approximately 151 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent data year. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from Johns Hopkins University make $39,964 more than the typical communication & journalism student.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Johns Hopkins University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
803 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
0.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were roughly 803 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the communication & journalism program at University of Wisconsin - Madison get $13,214 above the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of Wisconsin - Madison

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
696 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
4.0% Growth in Graduates

UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Chapel Hill. This university ranks 2nd out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were approximately 696 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent data year. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill get an earnings boost of about $14,235 over the average earnings of communication & journalism majors.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,421 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
0.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 116 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were approximately 1421 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the communication & journalism program at The University of Texas at Austin get $3,983 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

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

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
99 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$44,071 Median Starting Salary

Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Ithaca. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.

There were approximately 99 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from Cornell University receive an earnings boost of about $9,805 above the average income of communication & journalism graduates.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Cornell University

12
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
308 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$43,822 Median Starting Salary

UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,238 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 308 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from University of California - Berkeley earn $9,556 more than the standard communication & journalism graduate.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of California - Berkeley

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
425 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
12.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 55 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were about 424.99999999999994 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent data year. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities receive an earnings boost of approximately $8,424 above the average income of communication & journalism graduates.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

14
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
391 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$53,099 Median Starting Salary

Purdue is a very large public university located in the city of West Lafayette. This university ranks 2nd out of 42 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.

There were roughly 391 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the communication & journalism major at Purdue University - Main Campus earn $18,834 more than the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Purdue University - Main Campus

15
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
63 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
14.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means Georgia Tech is a great school overall.

There were roughly 63 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus earn a boost of about $33,731 above the typical earnings of communication & journalism majors.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

16
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
477 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$41,054 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 170 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 477 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the communication & journalism program at University of California - Santa Barbara make $6,788 above the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of California - Santa Barbara

17
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
627 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$45,800 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 87 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 627 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the communication & journalism degree program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $11,535 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

18
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
55 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
7.3% Growth in Graduates

Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were about 55 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the communication & journalism program at Stanford University make $18,582 above the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Stanford University

19
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
670 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$48,193 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 143 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were about 670 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from New York University make $13,927 more than the typical communication & journalism student.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from New York University

20
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
306 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$38,895 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 11th out of 170 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 306 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from University of California - Davis make $4,629 more than the average communication & journalism graduate.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of California - Davis

21
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
544 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$43,028 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 51 colleges for overall quality in the state of Washington.

There were about 544 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from University of Washington - Seattle Campus get an earnings boost of about $8,762 above the typical income of communication & journalism majors.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

22
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
142 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
14.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 12th out of 170 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 142 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent data year. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from Santa Clara University get an earnings boost of approximately $18,774 over the average income of communication & journalism majors.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Santa Clara University

23
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
441 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$40,020 Median Starting Salary

UMCP is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of College Park. This university ranks 2nd out of 35 colleges for overall quality in the state of Maryland.

There were approximately 441 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UMCP in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the communication & journalism degree program at University of Maryland - College Park earn $5,754 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from University of Maryland - College Park

24
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,336 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
8.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were roughly 1336 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the communication & journalism program state that they receive average early career earnings of $35,335.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Michigan State University

25
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
593 Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$37,229 Median Starting Salary

IU Bloomington is a fairly large public university located in the city of Bloomington. This university ranks 3rd out of 42 colleges for overall quality in the state of Indiana.

There were approximately 593 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from Indiana University - Bloomington earn $2,963 more than the average communication & journalism graduate.

More information about a degree in communication & journalism from Indiana University - Bloomington

Rest of the Top 50 Best Communication & Journalism Schools

25
26
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
27
28
29
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
30
31

32
Wake Forest University crest
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC

33
34
35
36
37
38
39
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
40
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY

41
U Miami crest
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL

42
43
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
44
45
46
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
47
48
49

Remaining Award Winners

This list shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Communication & Journalism Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 671 different United States communication & journalism schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
50 University of Oregon Eugene, OR
51 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA
52 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
53 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
54 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
55 University of Delaware Newark, DE
56 Baylor University Waco, TX
57 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ
58 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
59 Elon University Elon, NC
60 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
61 University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Norman, OK
62 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
63 University of Dayton Dayton, OH
64 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
65 Northeastern University Boston, MA
66 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
67 Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO
68 American University Washington, DC
69 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
70 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
71 Gonzaga University Spokane, WA
72 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
73 Drake University Des Moines, IA
74 Washington State University Pullman, WA
75 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
75 Emerson College Boston, MA
77 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
78 Iowa State University Ames, IA
79 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
80 DePaul University Chicago, IL
81 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
82 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
83 Ohio University - Athens Campus Athens, OH
84 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
85 Samford University Birmingham, AL
86 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL
87 Fordham University Bronx, NY
88 Chapman University Orange, CA
89 Bradley University Peoria, IL
90 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
91 Bryant University Smithfield, RI
92 DePauw University Greencastle, IN
93 Fashion Institute of Technology New York, NY
94 University of New Hampshire - Main Campus Durham, NH
95 Minnesota State University - Mankato Mankato, MN
96 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
97 Arizona State University - Skysong Scottsdale, AZ
98 Marist College Poughkeepsie, NY
99 Ithaca College Ithaca, NY
100 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA

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 Best Communication & Journalism Schools award.

Rank College Location
101 Towson University Towson, MD
102 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
103 Central New Mexico Community College Albuquerque, NM
104 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
105 Ball State University Muncie, IN
106 Auburn University Auburn, AL
107 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
108 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
109 Creighton University Omaha, NE
110 Fairfield University Fairfield, CT
111 Florida International University Miami, FL
112 Furman University Greenville, SC
113 University of North Texas Denton, TX
114 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
115 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC
116 Clark University Worcester, MA
117 University of Nevada - Reno Reno, NV
118 University of San Diego San Diego, CA
119 Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN
120 East Carolina University Greenville, NC
121 Denison University Granville, OH
122 University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD
123 Concordia College at Moorhead Moorhead, MN
124 University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA
125 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
126 Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT
127 University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI
128 The Graduate Center, CUNY New York, NY
129 Emory University Atlanta, GA
130 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI
131 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN
132 Illinois State University Normal, IL
133 Rowan University Glassboro, NJ
134 University of St Thomas Minnesota Saint Paul, MN

Communication & Journalism by Region

View the Best Communication & Journalism Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Communication & Journalism Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 66,787
Public Relations & Advertising 21,099
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 17,669
Journalism 13,552
Communication & Journalism (Other) 1,128
Publishing 336

View All Communication & Journalism Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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