2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in the Rocky Mountains Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 68,079 communication and media studies students received their degree, making the major the 9th most popular in the country. 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 the Rocky Mountains region, there were 3,210 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,007 and $23,997 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 27 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,140 and $97,138 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in communication and media studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality communication and media studies programs that also have a lower cost than 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Communications Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region.

Top 4 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in the Rocky Mountains Region

#1

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

#3 in overall quality

$24,695 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Utah landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it awarded 10 doctorate’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

U of U also took the #3 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at U of U are $24,695, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of Utah Communication & Media Studies Report

#2

University of Colorado Boulder

Boulder, Colorado

#1 in overall quality

$32,980 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Colorado Boulder landed the #2 spot on the list. Boulder, Colorado is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s communications degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

CU - Boulder also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at CU - Boulder are $32,980, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at CU - Boulder

#2

Colorado State University - Fort Collins

Fort Collins, Colorado

#4 in overall quality

$28,055 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Colorado State University - Fort Collins landed the #2 spot on the list. Colorado State University - Fort Collins is located in Fort Collins, Colorado and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s communications degrees to qualified students.

Colorado State also took the #4 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Colorado State University - Fort Collins are $28,055, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Colorado State Communication & Media Studies Report

#3

University of Denver

Denver, Colorado

#2 in overall quality

$52,899 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Denver. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region list. University of Denver is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Denver, Colorado. It awarded 5 doctorate’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.

DU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Denver are $52,899, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full DU Communication & Media Studies Report

• 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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