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Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region

224 Colleges
$37,160 Avg Salary
$21,474 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies 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.

The Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 224 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Communication & Media Studies program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for communications majors pursuing a .

Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Fullerton the most popular school in the Far Western US Region for communication and media studies students. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Fullerton.

The average amount in student loans that communications majors at Cal State Fullerton take out is $14,415. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $167, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

On average, communications graduates from USC take out $17,750 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $516, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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The excellent programs at California State University - Sacramento helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best communication and media studies schools in the Far Western US Region . Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, communications majors at Sac State accumulate an average of around $15,000 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $136, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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

Out of the 224 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the # 4 spot on the list. UCSB is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.

Communications majors at UCSB take out an average of $13,921 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $322, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that communications majors at UW Seattle take out is $16,680. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $224.

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California State University - Long Beach came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

On average, communications graduates from CSULB take out $14,139 in student loans while working on their degree.

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California State University - Northridge did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for communication and media studies students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Communications majors at CSUN take out an average of $14,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

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

#8

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular communication and media studies programs. Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public school with a very large student population.

On average, communications graduates from SFSU take out $13,979 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $184.

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San Jose State University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose.

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

University of California - Davis ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. UC Davis is a very large public school located in the small suburb of Davis.

Communications majors at UC Davis take out an average of $13,000 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $268, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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

University of California - San Diego landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular communication and media studies programs. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, communications graduates from UCSD carry an average student debt load of $14,500. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $203.

Full Communication & Media Studies at University of California - San Diego Report

University of California - Berkeley ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

While working on their degree, communications majors at UC Berkeley accumulate an average of around $12,207 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $328, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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University of Nevada - Las Vegas did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for communication and media studies students. It came in at #13 on the list. UNLV is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Las Vegas.

On average, communications graduates from UNLV take out $21,500 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $271.

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#14

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for communication and media studies students. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, communications majors at SDSU accumulate an average of around $15,000 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $315, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Communication & Media Studies at San Diego State University Report

California State University - San Marcos came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the suburb of San Marcos, CSUSM is a public college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, communications majors at CSUSM accumulate an average of around $16,710 in student debt.

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

With a ranking of #16, California State University - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for communication and media studies students. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona ranked #17 on this year’s Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the large suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that communications majors at Cal Poly Pomona take out is $15,250.

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University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for communication and media studies students. It came in at #18 on the list. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at University of California - Los Angeles

#19

Long Beach City College

Long Beach, CA

Long Beach City College ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the city of Long Beach, Long Beach City College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Communication & Media Studies at Long Beach City College Report

#20

Bakersfield College

Bakersfield, CA

Bakersfield College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Bakersfield College is a very large public school located in the city of Bakersfield.

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#21

Santa Monica College

Santa Monica, CA

With a ranking of #21, Santa Monica College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for communication and media studies students. Located in the city of Santa Monica, SMC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Santa Monica College

With a ranking of #22, California State University - San Bernardino did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for communication and media studies students. Located in the midsize city of San Bernardino, CSUSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

On average, communications graduates from CSUSB take out $14,208 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Communication & Media Studies at California State University - San Bernardino Report

With a ranking of #23, University of Hawaii at Manoa did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for communication and media studies students. UH Manoa is a fairly large public school located in the city of Honolulu.

The average amount in student loans that communications majors at UH Manoa take out is $20,750. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $388, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#24

Santa Barbara City College

Santa Barbara, CA

With a ranking of #24, Santa Barbara City College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for communication and media studies students. Located in the city of Santa Barbara, SBCC is a public college with a large student population.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Santa Barbara City College

University of Washington - Bothell Campus landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular communication and media studies programs. UW Bothell is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Bothell.

After completing their degree, communications graduates from UW Bothell carry an average student debt load of $16,680. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $224.

Full Communication & Media Studies at University of Washington - Bothell Campus Report

#28

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA
#29

Orange Coast College

Costa Mesa, CA
#30

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA
#31

Foothill College

Los Altos Hills, CA
#32

Chaffey College

Rancho Cucamonga, CA
#33

Pasadena City College

Pasadena, CA

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region award.

Rank College Location
34 Mt. San Antonio College Walnut, CA
35 Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA
36 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
37 De Anza College Cupertino, CA
38 Portland State University Portland, OR
38 Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA
40 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
41 California State University - Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA
42 Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill, CA
43 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA
44 West Valley College Saratoga, CA

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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