2025 Best Communication & Journalism Schools in California
46Colleges in California
17,619Communication & Journalism Degrees Awarded
$37,306Avg Early-Career Salary
Communication & Journalism is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #11 most popular degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
College Factual reviewed 46 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of communication & journalism. Combined, these schools handed out 17,619 degrees in communication & journalism to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Communication & Journalism School
Your choice of communication & journalism school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Communication & 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.
Communication & Journalism Rankings by Degree Level
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Communication & Journalism Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Communication & Journalism in California
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the communication & journalism degree levels they offer.
10 Top California Schools in Communication & Journalism
University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in communication & journalism. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 999 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from University of Southern California receive $17,218 more than the average communication & journalism grad.
It is hard to beat University of California - Santa Barbara if you wish to pursue a degree in communication & journalism. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #47 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.
There were about 601 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from University of California - Santa Barbara make $9,292 more than the standard communication & journalism student.
With an online bachelor's degree in communication you'll have the opportunity to pursue a multitude of career options. From journalism and social media, to public relations, advertising and mass media, earning your BA in communication will allow you to strategize and communicate your ideas.
Every student pursuing a degree in communication & journalism has to look into University of California - Davis. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.
There were roughly 301 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 $5,263 more than the typical communication & journalism grad.
University of California - San Diego is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in communication & journalism. UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the large city of La Jolla. A Best Colleges rank of #49 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.
There were approximately 287 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, communication & journalism degree recipients typically earn about $33,046 in their early careers.
UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were about 311 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the communication & journalism degree program at University of California - Berkeley earn $6,740 above the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #53 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 137 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from Santa Clara University earn a boost of about $14,414 over the typical income of communication & journalism graduates.
SFSU is a very large public university located in the city of San Francisco. This university ranks 30th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 542 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at SFSU 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 $35,289.
Effective communicators are always in demand, no matter the industry. The Master's in Communication degree from Southern New Hampshire University is a cutting-edge program designed for forward-thinking professionals.
Located in the large suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #63 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Pepperdine is a great university overall.
There were approximately 156 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Pepperdine in the most recent data year. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from Pepperdine University make $5,119 more than the average communication & journalism graduate.
Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 29th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 158 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Marymount in the most recent data year. Those communication & journalism students who get their degree from Loyola Marymount University make $3,807 more than the standard communication & journalism graduate.
Chapman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Orange. This university ranks 24th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 188 communication & journalism students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Journalism degree recipients from Chapman University get an earnings boost of approximately $4,801 above the average earnings of communication & journalism graduates.
With an online bachelor's degree in communication you'll have the opportunity to pursue a multitude of career options. From journalism and social media, to public relations, advertising and mass media, earning your BA in communication will allow you to strategize and communicate your ideas.
Effective communicators are always in demand, no matter the industry. The Master's in Communication degree from Southern New Hampshire University is a cutting-edge program designed for forward-thinking professionals.
Explore the digital frontier as it relates to today's communications strategies with this specialized online bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.
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 in California award.
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 Josh Hallett.
Your choice of communication & journalism school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Communication & Journalism School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
