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Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina

2023 Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

23 Colleges
$16,928 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,153 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies School for You

In 2020-2021, communication and media studies students earned 2,972 degrees and certificates from a North Carolina school, making the subject the 7th in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina ranking. Our analysis looked at 23 schools in North Carolina to see which programs offered the best value experiences for communications students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

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

Top 10 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Appalachian State University the best value school in North Carolina for communication and media studies students. Located in the distant town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Appalachian State are $7,410 per year. While working on their degree, communications majors at Appalachian State accumulate an average of around $22,931 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $150, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

In addition to its great value ranking, Appalachian State is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list.

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$3,495 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Pembroke. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the distant town of Pembroke, UNC Pembroke is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNC Pembroke are $3,495 a year. On average, communications graduates from UNC Pembroke take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $127.

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#3

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend East Carolina University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ECU are $7,297 per year. The average amount in student loans that communications majors at ECU take out is $24,673. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $298, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, ECU also did well on our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public school located in the city of Chapel Hill.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNC Chapel Hill are $9,028 per year. While working on their degree, communications majors at UNC Chapel Hill accumulate an average of around $16,500 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $361, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

UNC Chapel Hill also made our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list, coming in at #4.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Charlotte is a very large public school located in the city of Charlotte.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNC Charlotte are $7,188 a year. After completing their degree, communications graduates from UNC Charlotte carry an average student debtload of $25,000. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $177.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UNC Charlotte also did well on our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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$4,367 Average Tuition & Fees

Western Carolina University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina ranking. WCU is a large public school located in the distant town of Cullowhee.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WCU are $4,367 a year. The average amount in student loans that communications majors at WCU take out is $23,250. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $166.

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North Carolina State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for communication and media studies students. It came in at #7 on the list. NC State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Raleigh.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NC State are $9,131 a year. While working on their degree, communications majors at NC State accumulate an average of around $24,000 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $363.

NC State also took the #5 spot in our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina rankings.

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University of North Carolina at Wilmington landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value communication and media studies programs. Located in the midsize city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNCW are $7,238 a year. On average, communications graduates from UNCW take out $24,123 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $241, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UNCW also is in the top 15% of our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina ranking.

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With a ranking of #9, University of North Carolina at Greensboro did quite well on this year’s best value schools for communication and media studies students. UNC Greensboro is a large public school located in the city of Greensboro.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNC Greensboro are $7,468 per year. On average, communications graduates from UNC Greensboro take out $25,868 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $248.

UNC Greensboro also claimed a spot on our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

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

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$6,733 Average Tuition & Fees

North Carolina A & T State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. NC A&T is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NC A&T are $6,733 a year. The average amount in student loans that communications majors at NC A&T take out is $28,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $201, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Communication & Media Studies at North Carolina A & T State University Report

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Best Value Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 795
Virginia 2,064
Florida 3,020
Tennessee 1,000
Kentucky 787
South Carolina 796
Louisiana 815
Arkansas 457
Alabama 968
Mississippi 307
West Virginia 214

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

Majors Similar to Communications

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 23 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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