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Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

48 Colleges
$32,706 Avg Salary
$25,824 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, communication and media studies was ranked 10th in California. In fact, 12,754 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 48 schools in California to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for communications majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 10 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

Our analysis found Santa Clara University to be the best school for communication and media studies students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in California. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Santa Clara.

On average, communications graduates from SCU take out $16,450 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, communications majors at UC Berkeley accumulate an average of around $13,479 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $328.

Full Communication & Media Studies at University of California - Berkeley Report

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Communications majors at USC take out an average of $17,336 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $516, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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Out of the 48 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Communications majors at UCSB take out an average of $14,455 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $322.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a very large student population.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, communications graduates from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo carry an average student debtload of $15,492.

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University of California - Davis came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a very large student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, communications majors at UC Davis accumulate an average of around $13,505 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $268, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#7

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

Loyola Marymount University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree communication and media studies programs. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, communications graduates from Loyola Marymount carry an average student debtload of $20,620. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $674.

Full Communication & Media Studies at Loyola Marymount University Report

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#9

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for communication and media studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

Full Communication & Media Studies at Stanford University Report

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#10

Westmont College

Santa Barbara, CA

Westmont College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for communication and media studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Westmont is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.

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Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 1,139
Oregon 416
Nevada 367
Hawaii 265
Alaska 11

Communication & Media Studies is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.

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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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