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Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree Schools

2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree Schools

67 Colleges
$56,176 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree 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 Doctor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 67 schools in the United States to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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 Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States

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

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

#1

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

Our analysis found University of Pennsylvania to be the best school for communication and media studies students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Northwestern University is a great place for communication and media studies students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#3

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Out of the 67 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Cornell University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Cornell University

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Communication & Media Studies at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Report

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Out of the 67 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Austin landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Communication & Media Studies at The University of Texas at Austin Report

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University of Southern California came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #7 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Communication & Media Studies at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

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#8

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a very large student population.

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Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree communication and media studies programs. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree communication and media studies programs. Located in the small city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Communication & Media Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report

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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 Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
11 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
12 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
13 University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA

Communication & Media Studies by Region

View the Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

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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