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Best Value Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in California

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

20 Colleges
$17,200 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$47,692 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies Master'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.

The Best Value Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 20 schools in California 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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

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

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 California for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Francisco.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at SFSU are $8,738 a year.

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

CSULB graduate students pay an average of $8,280 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Sacramento. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Sac State are $8,826 per year.

Full Communication & Media Studies at California State University - Sacramento Report

#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

Out of the 20 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Diego.

SDSU graduate students pay an average of $9,570 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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Out of the 20 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.

UCSB graduate students pay an average of $13,581 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at University of California - Santa Barbara

San Jose State University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree communication and media studies programs. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.

San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $9,286 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

California State University - Fresno 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. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fresno.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Fresno State are $8,087 per year.

Full Communication & Media Studies at California State University - Fresno Report

With a ranking of #8, California State University - East Bay did quite well on this year’s best value schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.

Cal State East Bay graduate students pay an average of $8,429 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Communication & Media Studies at California State University - East Bay Report

California State University - Chico came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Chico, Chico State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Chico State are $9,298 a year.

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

With a ranking of #10, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on this year’s best value schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 per year.

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

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

Explore all the Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools 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 20 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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