Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k

186 Ranked Colleges
10,632 Degrees Awarded
$7,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor's For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Communications is the 65th most popular major in the country with 11,861 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 10,632 communications graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 186 colleges that offered a degree in communications. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent communications programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the communications program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Communications Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communications (Income $0-$30k)

#1

Cornell University

Ithaca, New York
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Cornell University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Ithaca, New York, and it awarded 90 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Cornell did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Cornell is $7,484 for bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Communications at Cornell University

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s communication arts degrees to 279 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also took the #4 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $5,477 for bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Communications at UIUC

#3

Baruch College

New York, New York

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Baruch College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k. Baruch is a fairly large public school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 73 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $1,858 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Baruch.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 3.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Communications at Baruch College

#4

The City College of New York

New York, New York

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The City College of New York. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. The City College of New York is a fairly large public school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 95 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $704 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend CCNY.

Read full report on Communications at CCNY

#5

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana
#16 in overall quality

Out of the 186 schools in the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. Purdue University - Main Campus is a public institution located in West Lafayette, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 131 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k list, Purdue has also earned the #16 rank in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Purdue is $5,483 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read more about Communications at Purdue

#6

Brooklyn College

Brooklyn, New York

Brooklyn College landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Brooklyn College is a fairly large public school situated in Brooklyn, New York. It awarded 1 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for Brooklyn College is $1,106 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Communications at Brooklyn College

With a ranking of #7, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is a large school located in Edinburg, Texas that handed out 1 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is $2,993 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Communications at UT Rio Grande Valley

#8

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#3 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Santa Barbara, California, this large public school handed out 517 degrees to qualified bachelors’s communication arts students in 2019-2020.

UCSB also took the #3 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCSB is $10,316 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UCSB Communications Report

#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, University of California - Davis did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. UC Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 323 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis also took the #6 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $9,842 for bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Communications at UC Davis

#10

University of North Florida

Jacksonville, Florida

University of North Florida ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of North Florida is located in Jacksonville, Florida and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 233 bachelors’s communication arts degrees to qualified students.

It costs about $5,097 for bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UNF.

The low student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full University of North Florida Communications Report

#11

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, North Carolina
#5 in overall quality

Wake Forest University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Winston-Salem, North Carolina is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s communication arts degrees to 113 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Wake Forest University, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $5,250 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Wake Forest University.

The low student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Communications at Wake Forest University

#12

Towson University

Towson, Maryland
#17 in overall quality

Towson University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #12. Towson University is a large public school situated in Towson, Maryland. It awarded 146 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Towson not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #17 on our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $9,206 for bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Towson University.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Communications at Towson

#10 in overall quality

With a ranking of #13, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s communication arts degrees to 239 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCSD, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $9,280 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of California - San Diego.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Communications at University of California - San Diego

#14

Texas A&M University - College Station

College Station, Texas
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #14, Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Texas A&M University - College Station is a public institution located in College Station, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 346 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Texas A&M College Station not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Texas A&M University - College Station is $11,454 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Communications at Texas A&M University - College Station

#15

Boston University

Boston, Massachusetts
#2 in overall quality

With a ranking of #15, Boston University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 428 degrees to qualified bachelors’s communication arts students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k list, Boston U has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Boston University is $12,903 for bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Communications at Boston University

#16

College of Staten Island CUNY

Staten Island, New York

College of Staten Island CUNY ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. College of Staten Island CUNY is a fairly large public school situated in Staten Island, New York. It awarded 70 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend College of Staten Island CUNY is $3,109 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full College of Staten Island CUNY Communications Report

#17

University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

Whitewater, Wisconsin
#23 in overall quality

With a ranking of #17, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Wisconsin - Whitewater is located in Whitewater, Wisconsin and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 141 bachelors’s communication arts degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW - Whitewater, the school also landed the #23 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $11,868 for bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UW - Whitewater.

Read full report on Communications at UW - Whitewater

#18

University of Minnesota - Crookston

Crookston, Minnesota

With a ranking of #18, University of Minnesota - Crookston did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Crookston, Minnesota, this small public school awarded 23 degrees to qualified bachelors’s communication arts students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend University of Minnesota - Crookston is $5,832 for bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Communications at UMN Crookston

With a ranking of #19, The University of Texas at San Antonio did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. The University of Texas at San Antonio is a large school located in San Antonio, Texas that handed out 289 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas at San Antonio is $10,516 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Communications at The University of Texas at San Antonio

#20

University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Top 25% in overall quality

University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point landed the #20 spot on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UW - Stevens Point is located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 90 bachelors’s communication arts degrees to qualified students.

It costs about $11,446 for bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point.

Read full report on Communications at University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

#21

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, Massachusetts
#9 in overall quality

University of Massachusetts Amherst did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #21. Amherst, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s communication arts degrees to 295 students in 2019-2020.

UMass Amherst also took the #9 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $13,137 for bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Communications at UMass Amherst

Texas A&M International University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Texas A&M International University is a public institution located in Laredo, Texas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 36 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $2,261 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Texas A&M International University.

Read more about Communications at Texas A&M International University

#23

University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

Green Bay, Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin - Green Bay came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, this medium-sized public school handed out 52 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s communication arts students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend UW - Green Bay is $11,337 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full UW - Green Bay Communications Report

University of Wisconsin - Parkside did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #24. Kenosha, Wisconsin is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s communication arts degrees to 37 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $6,652 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Parkside.

Read more about Communications at University of Wisconsin - Parkside

#25

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Top 25% in overall quality

With a ranking of #25, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire is a fairly large public school situated in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It awarded 40 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire is $11,528 for Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full UW - Eau Claire Communications Report

Rest of the Best 28 in Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k

Not only did these schools make the top 28 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

#26

Oakland University

Rochester Hills, Michigan
#28

Albion College

Albion, Michigan

Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

Featured Communications / Public Relations Schools

Find Schools Near You