2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Communication & Media Studies is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 9th of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 68,079 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2017-2018, communication and media studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,728 and had an average of $24,931 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 13,425 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,239 and $21,690 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 27 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in communication and media studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent communication and media studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the communication and media studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Communication & Media Studies Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California” 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 Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california doctor’s degree communications students.

Top 5 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in California

#1

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

#3 in overall quality

$28,670 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California. UCSB is a large public school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 3 doctorate’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSB also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSB are $28,670, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of California - Santa Barbara Communication & Media Studies Report

#2

University of California - San Diego

La Jolla, California

#4 in overall quality

$28,631 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s communications degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

UCSD not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSD are $28,631, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at UCSD

#3

University of California - Davis

Davis, California

#4 in overall quality

$28,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Davis. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Davis are $28,700.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at UC Davis

#3

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$48,715 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Southern California is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 14 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at USC

#4

Stanford University

Stanford, California

#2 in overall quality

$55,011 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in California. Stanford University is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 4 doctorate’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Stanford University Communication & Media Studies Report

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies

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

• Credit for the banner image above goes to UNU-WIDER from Helsinki, Finland.

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