2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools
Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies School for You
In 2020-2021, 66,787 communication and media studies students received their degrees and certificates, making the major the #10 most popular in the country.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
The Best Communication & Media Studies Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 683 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for communications majors pursuing a .
Top 25 Top Schools in Communication & Media Studies
Our analysis found Santa Clara University to be the best school for communication and media studies students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.
Communications majors at SCU take out an average of $18,250 in student loans while working on their egree.
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The excellent programs at University of Pennsylvania helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best communication and media studies schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Communications majors at UPenn take out an average of $19,500 in student loans while working on their egree.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Northwestern University is a great place for communication and media studies students. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Communications majors at Northwestern take out an average of $18,366 in student loans while working on their egree.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Johns Hopkins University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools list. Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Baltimore.
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The excellent programs at University of California - Berkeley helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best communication and media studies schools in the United States. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.
After completing their degree, communications graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $12,207. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $328.
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Wake Forest University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
On average, communications graduates from Wake Forest University take out $20,911 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $840.
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With a ranking of #7, Cornell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
While working on their degree, communications majors at Cornell accumulate an average of around $15,500 in student debt.
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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools ranking. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a fairly large student population.
After completing their degree, communications graduates from U-M carry an average student debtload of $19,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $435, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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The University of Texas at Austin came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that communications majors at UT Austin take out is $20,070. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $362, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Colorado State University - Global Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for communication and media studies students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the large city of Greenwood Village, Colorado State University - Global Campus is a public college with a fairly large student population.
While working on their degree, communications majors at Colorado State University - Global Campus accumulate an average of around $31,905 in student debt.
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Boston College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools ranking. Boston College is a large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Chestnut Hill.
While working on their degree, communications majors at Boston College accumulate an average of around $18,000 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $609.
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The Graduate Center, CUNY ranked #12 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Schools list. Located in the city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
While working on their degree, communications majors at The Graduate Center accumulate an average of around $19,937 in student debt.
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College of Saint Benedict ranked #13 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Schools list. CSB is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized suburb of Saint Joseph.
While working on their degree, communications majors at CSB accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.
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Drake University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best communication and media studies programs. Drake is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Des Moines.
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Villanova University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for communication and media studies students. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that communications majors at Villanova take out is $26,000. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $854.
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With a ranking of #16, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
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With a ranking of #17, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
On average, communications graduates from USC take out $17,750 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $516.
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University of Delaware did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for communication and media studies students. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the suburb of Newark, UD is a public school with a very large student population.
Communications majors at UD take out an average of $25,000 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $801, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.
The average amount in student loans that communications majors at UCSB take out is $13,921. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $322.
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With a ranking of #20, Fairfield University did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students. Located in the large suburb of Fairfield, Fairfield U is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
On average, communications graduates from Fairfield U take out $26,411 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $602.
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University of Missouri - Columbia ranked #21 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public school with a very large student population.
After completing their degree, communications graduates from Mizzou carry an average student debtload of $22,814. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $531, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best communication and media studies programs. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Communications majors at Purdue take out an average of $19,500 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $368, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Texas Christian University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for communication and media studies students. It came in at #23 on the list. TCU is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Fort Worth.
While working on their degree, communications majors at TCU accumulate an average of around $21,750 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $684, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Elon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for communication and media studies students. It came in at #24 on the list. Elon is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Elon.
Communications majors at Elon take out an average of $24,819 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $664.
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public college with a fairly large student population.
On average, communications graduates from UNC Chapel Hill take out $16,500 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $361.
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Remaining Award Winners
This section shows the rest of the schools awarded a Best Communication & Media Studies Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 683 different United States communication and media studies schools we analyzed.
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 & Media Studies Schools award.
Communication & Media Studies by Region
View the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
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| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Communication & Media Studies Rankings
Communication & Media Studies Related Rankings by Major
Communication & Media Studies is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Public Relations & Advertising | 21,099 |
| Radio, Television & Digital Communication | 17,669 |
| Journalism | 13,552 |
| Communication & Journalism (Other) | 1,128 |
| Publishing | 336 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 UNU-WIDER from Helsinki, Finland.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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