by our College Data Analytics TeamThe main focus area for this major is Speech Communication. For more details on this concentration, visit its profile page.
Communication & Media Studies is a major offered under the communication and journalism program of study at Northwestern University. Here, you’ll find out more about the major bachelor’s degree program in communications, including such details as the number of graduates, diversity of students, and more.
If there’s something special you’re looking for, you can use one of the links below to find it:
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
With an online bachelor's degree in communication you'll have the opportunity to pursue a multitude of career options. From journalism and social media, to public relations, advertising and mass media, earning your BA in communication will allow you to strategize and communicate your ideas.
In order to help students and their parents find the best school for them, we have created several different types of college rankings, which are updated yearly. Ranked at #4 in College Factual's most recent rankings, Northwestern is in the top 1% of the country for communications students pursuing a bachelor's degree. It is also ranked #1 in Illinois.
Here are some of the other rankings for Northwestern.
Part-time undergraduates at Northwestern paid an average of $6,901 per credit hour in 2019-2020. This tuition was the same for both in-state and out-of-state students. Information about average full-time undergraduate tuition and fees is shown in the table below.
| In State | Out of State | |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $58,227 | $58,227 |
| Fees | $474 | $474 |
| Books and Supplies | $1,662 | $1,662 |
| On Campus Room and Board | $17,616 | $17,616 |
| On Campus Other Expenses | $3,304 | $3,304 |
Learn more about Northwestern tuition and fees.
One way to think about how much a school will cost is to look at how much in student loans that you have to take out to get your degree. Communications students who received their bachelor’s degree at Northwestern took out an average of $17,000 in student loans. That is 30% lower than the national average of $24,445.
The median early career salary of communications students who receive their bachelor’s degree from Northwestern is $45,383 per year. That is 43% higher than the national average of $31,626.
Northwestern does not offer an online option for its communications bachelor’s degree program at this time. To see if the school offers distance learning options in other areas, visit the Northwestern Online Learning page.
Of the students who received their bachelor’s degree in communications in 2019-2020, 64.4% of them were women. This is about the same as the countrywide number of 64.0%.
Of those graduates who received a bachelor’s degree in communications at Northwestern in 2019-2020, 31.7% were racial-ethnic minorities*. This is lower than the nationwide number of 36%.
| Race/Ethnicity | Number of Students |
|---|---|
| Asian | 9 |
| Black or African American | 3 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 13 |
| Native American or Alaska Native | 0 |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | 0 |
| White | 50 |
| International Students | 17 |
| Other Races/Ethnicities | 9 |
Communication & Media Studies students may decide to major in one of the following focus areas.
| Focus Area | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Speech Communication | 101 |
You may also be interested in one of these majors related to communication and media studies.
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Journalism | 151 |
| Radio, Television & Digital Communication | 102 |
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
