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Most Popular Journalism Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Journalism Schools in California

86 Colleges
$33,623 Avg Salary
$21,695 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Journalism School for You

Journalism is the #66 most popular major in California with 1,622 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

The Most Popular Journalism Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 86 schools in California to see which programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Journalism program at each school on the list.

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

#1

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

Our 2023 rankings named San Diego State University the most popular school in California for journalism students. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that journalism majors at SDSU take out is $23,046.

Read full report on Journalism at San Diego State University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Northridge. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Journalism Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a very large student population.

On average, journalism graduates from CSUN take out $15,957 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Journalism at California State University - Northridge Report

The excellent programs at University of Southern California helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best journalism schools in California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Journalism majors at USC take out an average of $18,379 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Journalism at University of Southern California Report

The excellent programs at California State University - Long Beach helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best journalism schools in California. CSULB is a very large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

Journalism majors at CSULB take out an average of $15,413 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Journalism at California State University - Long Beach

Out of the 86 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Journalism at California State University - Fresno Report

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular journalism programs. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

While working on their degree, journalism majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo accumulate an average of around $18,581 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $310.

Read More…

#7

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Journalism Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a very large student population.

Journalism majors at SFSU take out an average of $17,052 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $111, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Journalism at San Francisco State University

San Jose State University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Journalism Schools in California list. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Jose.

Read More…

California State University - Chico landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular journalism programs. Chico State is a large public school located in the midsize city of Chico.

While working on their degree, journalism majors at Chico State accumulate an average of around $19,479 in student debt.

Read full report on Journalism at California State University - Chico

With a ranking of #11, California State University - Sacramento did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for journalism students. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a very large student population.

Journalism majors at Sac State take out an average of $19,070 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Journalism at California State University - Sacramento Report

#12

Fullerton College

Fullerton, CA

Fullerton College ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Journalism Schools in California list. Fullerton College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.

Full Journalism at Fullerton College Report

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Journalism students in the state of California that almost earned our Most Popular Journalism Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
13 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
14 Chapman University Orange, CA
15 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
16 Santa Monica College Santa Monica, CA
17 De Anza College Cupertino, CA

Best Journalism Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular Journalism Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 216
Oregon 155
Nevada 156
Hawaii 11
Alaska 19

Journalism is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Journalism

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 66,787
Public Relations & Advertising 21,099
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 17,669
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 Jfurrer.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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