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Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina

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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.

2023 Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina

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

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 town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public school with a very large student population.

Appalachian State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,410 in in-state tuition and fees each 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.

Appalachian State also claimed a spot on our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Full Communication & Media Studies at Appalachian State University Report

$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 town of Pembroke, UNC Pembroke is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

UNC Pembroke undergraduate students pay an average of $3,495 in in-state tuition and fees each 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.

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

#3

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means East Carolina University is a great value for communication and media studies students. Located in the small city of Greenville, ECU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at ECU are $7,297 a 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.

ECU also claimed a spot on our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at East Carolina University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNC Chapel Hill are $9,028 a 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 not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list.

Read More…

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 fairly large public school located in the large city of Charlotte.

UNC Charlotte undergraduate students pay an average of $7,188 in in-state tuition and fees each 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.

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

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

$4,367 Average Tuition & Fees

Western Carolina University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value communication and media studies programs. WCU is a large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.

WCU undergraduate students pay an average of $4,367 in in-state tuition and fees each 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.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Western Carolina University

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

NC State undergraduate students pay an average of $9,131 in in-state tuition and fees each 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.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, NC State is ranked #5 for overall quality for communications in North Carolina.

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

University of North Carolina at Wilmington ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UNCW undergraduate students pay an average of $7,238 in in-state tuition and fees each 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.

UNCW also claimed a spot on our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Full Communication & Media Studies at University of North Carolina at Wilmington Report

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNC Greensboro are $7,468 a 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 More…

$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 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

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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