2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies Master'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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 239 schools in the United States to see which master'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.
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2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the communications master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Communication & Media Studies
Our analysis found University of Pennsylvania to be the best school for communication and media studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at University of Pennsylvania
The excellent master’s degree programs at Northwestern University 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 small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Johns Hopkins University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Baltimore.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Johns Hopkins University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Cornell University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Drake University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. Drake is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines.
Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree communication and media studies programs. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for communication and media studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Full Communication & Media Studies at Purdue University - Main Campus Report
Villanova University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Villanova University
University of Southern California landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree communication and media studies programs. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #10 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.
Full Communication & Media Studies at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Report
With a ranking of #11, Fairfield University did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Fairfield, Fairfield U is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Fairfield University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #12 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Full Communication & Media Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report
With a ranking of #13, University of Delaware did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Newark, UD is a public school with a very large student population.
Stanford University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Stanford University
With a ranking of #15, Texas Christian University did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. TCU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Fort Worth.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Texas Christian University
With a ranking of #16, University of Dayton did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at University of Dayton
James Madison University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for communication and media studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public college with a very large student population.
University of Iowa ranked #18 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. Iowa is a very large public school located in the small city of Iowa City.
Full Communication & Media Studies at University of Iowa Report
With a ranking of #19, University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a fairly large student population.
George Washington University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for communication and media studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. GWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.
University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree communication and media studies programs. Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at University of California - Santa Barbara
University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #22 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. UW Seattle is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Seattle.
Virginia Tech came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Blacksburg.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Virginia Tech
University of San Francisco landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree communication and media studies programs. USFCA is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.
Full Communication & Media Studies at University of San Francisco Report
South Dakota State University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the remote town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at South Dakota State University
Rest of the Top Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools
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 Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | University of Nevada - Reno | Reno, NV |
| 37 | Bryant University | Smithfield, RI |
| 38 | Brigham Young University - Provo | Provo, UT |
| 39 | University of Florida | Gainesville, FL |
| 40 | University of Georgia | Athens, GA |
| 41 | University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ |
| 42 | Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus, OH |
| 43 | University of Denver | Denver, CO |
| 44 | University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, IA |
| 45 | Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network | Boston, MA |
| 46 | Marquette University | Milwaukee, WI |
| 47 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha, NE |
Communication & Media Studies by Region
View the Best Communication & Media Studies Master'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 |
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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