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2024 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

115 Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region
8,504 Bachelor's Degrees
$31,898 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #5 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 115 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of communication & media studies. Combined, these schools handed out 8,504 bachelor's degrees in communication & media studies to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region Your choice of communication & media studies for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for communication & media studies students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Communications Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Communication & Media Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

17 Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Communications

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
71 Annual Graduates
$50,120 Median Starting Salary
$15,637 Median Student Debt

University of Pennsylvania is a wonderful option for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Pennsylvania make $18,222 more than the typical communications grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University of Pennsylvania

2
87 Annual Graduates
$44,071 Median Starting Salary
$14,418 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat Cornell University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Communication & Media Studies bachelor's degree recipients from Cornell University earn a boost of about $12,173 above the typical income of communication & media studies majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Cornell University

3
278 Annual Graduates
$41,724 Median Starting Salary
$20,000 Median Student Debt

University of Maryland - College Park is a great option for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the large suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a very large student population.

Communication & Media Studies bachelor's degree recipients from University of Maryland - College Park earn a boost of around $9,826 over the typical earnings of communication & media studies graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University of Maryland - College Park

4
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
150 Annual Graduates
$42,160 Median Starting Salary
$26,456 Median Student Debt

Villanova University is a wonderful option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova.

Bachelor's recipients from the communication & media studies program at Villanova University get $10,262 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Villanova University

5
170 Annual Graduates
$41,737 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the suburb of Newark, UD is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Communication & Media Studies bachelor's degree recipients from University of Delaware earn a boost of around $9,839 over the typical earnings of communication & media studies majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University of Delaware

6
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
116 Annual Graduates
$37,905 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the communication & media studies degree program at Syracuse University make $6,007 above the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Syracuse University

7
40 Annual Graduates
$45,521 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from George Washington University earn $13,623 more than the average communications graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from George Washington University

8
135 Annual Graduates
$42,213 Median Starting Salary
$25,700 Median Student Debt

Fordham U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Bronx.

Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from Fordham University make $10,315 more than the typical communications graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Fordham University

9
Marist crest
Marist College
Poughkeepsie, NY
202 Annual Graduates
$39,947 Median Starting Salary
$26,000 Median Student Debt

Marist is a medium-sized private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Poughkeepsie.

Bachelor's recipients from the communication & media studies program at Marist College get $8,049 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Marist College

10
346 Annual Graduates
$34,834 Median Starting Salary
$22,251 Median Student Debt

University at Buffalo is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Buffalo.

Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from University at Buffalo earn $2,936 more than the standard communications graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University at Buffalo

11
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
25 Annual Graduates
$42,806 Median Starting Salary
$22,611 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the communication & media studies program at American University get $10,908 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from American University

12
312 Annual Graduates
$41,337 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of New Brunswick, Rutgers New Brunswick is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from Rutgers University - New Brunswick make $9,439 more than the standard communications graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Rutgers University - New Brunswick

13
158 Annual Graduates
$34,223 Median Starting Salary
$24,713 Median Student Debt

Located in the suburb of Montclair, Montclair State is a public university with a very large student population.

Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from Montclair State University earn $2,325 more than the standard communications graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Montclair State University

14
Hunter crest
Hunter College
New York, NY
147 Annual Graduates
$32,241 Median Starting Salary
$11,000 Median Student Debt

Hunter is a very large public college located in the city of New York.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the communications program make around $32,241 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Hunter College

15
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
95 Annual Graduates
$32,400 Median Starting Salary
$24,880 Median Student Debt

Temple is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the communications program state that they receive average early career wages of $32,400.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Temple University

16
52 Annual Graduates
$51,317 Median Starting Salary
$14,125 Median Student Debt

The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of New York.

Communication & Media Studies bachelor's degree recipients from The Graduate Center, CUNY earn a boost of approximately $19,419 over the average income of communication & media studies graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from The Graduate Center, CUNY

17
Muhlenberg crest
Muhlenberg College
Allentown, PA
56 Annual Graduates
$34,407 Median Starting Salary
$24,250 Median Student Debt

Located in the midsize city of Allentown, Muhlenberg is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Communication & Media Studies bachelor's degree recipients from Muhlenberg College earn a boost of approximately $2,509 over the typical income of communication & media studies graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Muhlenberg College

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region award.

Rank College Location
18 Towson University Towson, MD
19 Rowan University Glassboro, NJ
20 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
21 Loyola University Maryland Baltimore, MD
22 University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD
23 Pace University - New York New York, NY
24 University at Albany Albany, NY
25 Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best communication & media studies schools for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New York 275 3,793
Pennsylvania 274 1,924
Maryland 207 1,031
New Jersey 193 1,410
Delaware 130 234
District of Columbia 126 112

View All Rankings >

Communication & Media Studies is one of 5 different types of Communication & Journalism programs to choose from.

Communications Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Speech Communication 4,651
Communications 1,664
Communication & Media Studies 1,638
Other Communication & Media Studies 551

Majors Similar to Communications

Related Major Annual Graduates
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 2,767
Public Relations & Advertising 2,603
Journalism 1,719
Communication & Journalism (Other) 139
Publishing 21

Notes and References

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