College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa

10 Ranked Colleges
552 Degrees Awarded
$22,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa” ranking is part of that endeavor.

With 66,787 degrees handed out in 2020-2021, communication & media studies is the 10th most popular major in the United States. In 2019-2020, communication & media studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $34,115 and had an average of $25,414 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 552 communication & media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,619 and $32,576 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in communication & media studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality communication & media studies programs that also have a lower cost than 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 communication & media studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Communication & Media Studies Schools

Rankings by Degree Other Award Levels
Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Communications Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Communications Schools in Iowa” list to help you make the college 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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in Iowa

1
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa. Iowa is located in Iowa City, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 216 ’s communications degrees to qualified students.

Iowa did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa is $19,401 for Iowa Communications students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Iowa

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa. Iowa State is a public institution located in Ames, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 92 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Iowa State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $16,002 for Iowa Communications students per year to attend Iowa State University.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full Iowa State University Communication & Media Studies Report

3
UNI crest
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Iowa landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Northern Iowa is a medium-sized school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa that handed out 62 ’s communications degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our iowa communications students list, UNI has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $16,438 for Iowa Communications students per year to attend University of Northern Iowa.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at UNI

4
Drake crest
Drake University
Des Moines, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Drake University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 41 diplomas to qualified ’s communications students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our iowa communications students list, Drake has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Drake University is $29,903 for iowa communications students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Drake Communication & Media Studies Report

5
Waldorf crest
Waldorf University
Forest City, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Waldorf University. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa list. Located in Forest City, Iowa, this small private for-profit school awarded 16 degrees to qualified ’s communications students in 2020-2021.

Waldorf not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $20,541 for iowa communications students per year to attend Waldorf University.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Waldorf

6
UD crest
University of Dubuque
Dubuque, Iowa

University of Dubuque did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Dubuque, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 24 diplomas to qualified ’s communications students in 2020-2021.

UD not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Dubuque is $27,592 for iowa communications students.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at University of Dubuque

7
Loras crest
Loras College
Dubuque, Iowa

Loras College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa ranking. Dubuque, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s communications degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.

Loras also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for Loras is $21,629 for Iowa Communications students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Loras College Communication & Media Studies Report

8
Luther crest
Luther College
Decorah, Iowa

Luther College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa list. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Decorah, Iowa. It awarded 9 ’s communications degrees in 2020-2021.

Luther did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Luther College is $25,538 for Iowa Communications students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Luther College

9
Coe crest
Coe College
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

With a ranking of #9, Coe College did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa list. Cedar Rapids, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s communications degrees to 7 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our iowa communications students list, Coe has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Coe College is $20,371 for Iowa Communications students.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% 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 Coe Communication & Media Studies Report

10
Wartburg crest
Wartburg College
Waverly, Iowa

Wartburg College did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Communications Schools in Iowa ranking, coming in at #10. Wartburg College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Waverly, Iowa. It awarded 17 ’s communications degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Wartburg, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Wartburg is $22,765 for Iowa Communications students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.9% 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 full report on Communication & Media Studies at Wartburg

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

Credits

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options