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Best Value Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Best Value Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

29 Colleges
$22,538 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$47,692 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies Master'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.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This report analyzed 29 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for communications students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Check out the communications master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

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

#1

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

Our 2023 rankings named San Francisco State University the best value school in the Far Western US Region for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at SFSU are $18,242 a year.

Full Communication & Media Studies at San Francisco State University Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Nevada - Reno helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value communication and media studies schools in the Far Western US Region . Located in the city of Reno, UNR is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UNR are $22,380 a year.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at University of Nevada - Reno

#3

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

Out of the 29 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at SDSU are $19,074 per year.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at San Diego State University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSULB are $17,784 per year.

Read More…

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Sacramento is a great value for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Sac State are $18,330 per year.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at California State University - Sacramento

#6

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

University of San Francisco landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree communication and media studies programs. Located in the large city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

USFCA graduate students pay an average of $27,250 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, USFCA also is in the top 20% of our Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking.

Full Communication & Media Studies at University of San Francisco Report

California Baptist University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Cal Baptist is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Riverside.

Cal Baptist graduate students pay an average of $14,320 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at California Baptist University

University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. UCSB is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSB are $28,683 per year.

Full Communication & Media Studies at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

San Jose State 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 #9 on the list. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose.

San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $18,790 in tuition and fees each year.

San Jose State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

Full Communication & Media Studies at San Jose State University Report

#10

National University

La Jolla, CA

National University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree communication and media studies programs. Located in the city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

National University graduate students pay an average of $15,480 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Communication & Media Studies at National University Report

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best communication and media studies colleges for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 12,754
Washington 1,139
Oregon 416
Nevada 367
Hawaii 265
Alaska 11

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 25 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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