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2024 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa

10 Colleges in Iowa
552 Communications Degrees Awarded
$34,619 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #10 in popularity, communication & media studies is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 10 schools in Iowa to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of communication & media studies. Combined, these schools handed out 552 degrees in communication & media studies to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School

Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa Your choice of communication & media studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for communication & media studies schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Communication & Media Studies Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Communications
Bachelor's Degrees in Communications
Master's Degrees in Communications
Doctor's Degrees in Communications

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Communication & Media Studies in Iowa

The schools below may not offer all types of communications degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Iowa Schools in Communications

1
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
216 Communications Degrees Awarded
2.3% Growth in Graduates

University of Iowa is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in communication & media studies. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #84 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.

There were approximately 216 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from University of Iowa get an earnings boost of approximately $2,670 over the typical earnings of communication & media studies majors.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of Iowa

2
Drake crest
Drake University
Des Moines, IA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In IA
41 Communications Degrees Awarded

Drake University is a good choice for students interested in a degree in communication & media studies. Drake is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Des Moines. A Best Colleges rank of #224 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Drake is a great university overall.

There were approximately 41 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Drake in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Drake University

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
92 Communications Degrees Awarded
15.2% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat Iowa State University if you wish to pursue a degree in communication & media studies. Iowa State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Ames. A Best Colleges rank of #75 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 92 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from Iowa State University receive $3,613 more than the average communications student.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Iowa State University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
62 Communications Degrees Awarded
$35,882 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in communication & media studies needs to look into University of Northern Iowa. UNI is a medium-sized public university located in the city of Cedar Falls. A Best Colleges rank of #199 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.

There were approximately 62 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the communications program make around $35,882 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of Northern Iowa

5
Luther crest
Luther College
Decorah, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$33,709 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the remote town of Decorah, Luther is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #372 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Luther is a great college overall.

There were roughly 9 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Luther in the most recent data year. After graduation, communications degree recipients generally earn about $33,709 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Luther College

6
Coe crest
Coe College
Cedar Rapids, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
13th Most Popular In IA

Coe is a small private not-for-profit college located in the medium-sized city of Cedar Rapids. This college ranks 22nd out of 40 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were about 7 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Coe in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Coe College

7
Loras crest
Loras College
Dubuque, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$37,403 Median Starting Salary
$24,426 Median Student Debt

Loras is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Dubuque. This college ranks 16th out of 40 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 8 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Loras in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the communication & media studies major at Loras College earn $2,784 more than the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Loras College

8
Wartburg crest
Wartburg College
Waverly, IA

Wartburg is a small private not-for-profit college located in the town of Waverly. This college ranks 15th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were roughly 17 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Wartburg in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program state that they receive average early career income of $32,087.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Wartburg College

9
Waldorf crest
Waldorf University
Forest City, IA

Waldorf is a small private for-profit university located in the remote town of Forest City. This university ranks 13th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 16 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Waldorf in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, communications degree recipients usually earn an average of $30,024 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Waldorf University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$32,383 Median Starting Salary
$24,444 Median Student Debt

UD is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Dubuque. This university ranks 33rd out of 40 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were about 24 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UD in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the communications program make around $32,383 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of Dubuque

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 284 876
Missouri 283 1,003
Kansas 266 489
Nebraska 238 156
North Dakota 210 131
South Dakota 204 159

View All Rankings >

One of 5 majors within the Communication & Journalism area of study, Communication & Media Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Communications Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Speech Communication 440
Other Communication & Media Studies 41
Communication & Media Studies 38
Communications 33

View All Communications Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Communications

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Relations & Advertising 289
Journalism 279
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 111
Communication & Journalism (Other) 4

View All Communications Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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