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Best Value Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

62 Colleges
$17,290 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,706 Avg Salary

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

With 66,787 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, communication and media studies is the #10 most popular major in the United States.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 62 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for communications students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

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

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

#1

Bellevue University

Bellevue, NE

Our 2023 rankings named Bellevue University the best value school in the Plains States Region for communication and media studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Bellevue, Bellevue University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Bellevue University are $8,310 per year. On average, communications graduates from Bellevue University take out $29,618 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Bellevue University also made our Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list, coming in at #3.

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#2

Wayne State College

Wayne, NE

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Wayne State College is a great value for communication and media studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the town of Wayne, WSC is a public school with a small student population.

WSC undergraduate students pay an average of $7,458 in tuition and fees each year.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Metropolitan State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Metro State is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Saint Paul.

Metro State undergraduate students pay an average of $9,394 in tuition and fees each year. On average, communications graduates from Metro State take out $33,749 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at South Dakota State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value communication and media studies schools in the Plains States Region . South Dakota State is a fairly large public school located in the remote town of Brookings.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at South Dakota State are $12,809 a year.

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#5

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of South Dakota is a great value for communication and media studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the town of Vermillion, USD is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at USD are $12,942 per year. The average amount in student loans that communications majors at USD take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $23,242. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $175, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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Bemidji State 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 #6 on the list. Bemidji State University is a small public school located in the remote town of Bemidji.

Bemidji State University undergraduate students pay an average of $9,806 in tuition and fees each year. Communications majors at Bemidji State University take out an average of $21,664 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

In addition to its great value ranking, Bemidji State University is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list.

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Winona State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Winona State is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Winona.

Winona State undergraduate students pay an average of $16,684 in tuition and fees each year. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $158, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Winona State also did well on our Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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#8

Truman State University

Kirksville, MO

With a ranking of #8, Truman State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for communication and media studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Truman State is a small public school located in the remote town of Kirksville.

Truman State undergraduate students pay an average of $16,410 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Communication & Media Studies at Truman State University Report

Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree communication and media studies programs. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Mankato.

Minnesota State Mankato undergraduate students pay an average of $18,200 in tuition and fees each year. Communications majors at Minnesota State Mankato take out an average of $23,556 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $150, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Minnesota State University - Mankato

#10

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND

University of North Dakota 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. UND is a large public school located in the city of Grand Forks.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UND are $15,037 a year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, communications majors at UND accumulate an average of around $24,316 in student debt.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at University of North Dakota

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region award.

Rank College Location
11 University of Minnesota - Duluth Duluth, MN
12 University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best communication and media studies colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 1,007
Minnesota 887
Kansas 490
Iowa 552
Nebraska 156
North Dakota 131
South Dakota 159

One of 5 majors within the area of study, communication and media studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

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 26 schools only.

  • 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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