
[Communication Media Studies](/majors/communication-journalism-media/communication-media-studies/) is a field where your choice of school can shape what you earn after graduation. A top-earning program sends graduates into careers with strong starting pay.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 3 schools on the early-career earnings of their communication media studies graduates.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools whose communication media studies graduates go on to earn the most.
For graduate earnings in communication media studies, no school beat Hawaii Pacific University this year. Hawaii Pacific University is a private not-for-profit school located in the city of Honolulu. Students who complete the communication media studies program here go on to a median salary of roughly $48,712.
Strong graduate earnings at University Of Hawaii At Manoa earned it the #2 place for communication media studies. Located in the city of Honolulu, University Of Hawaii At Manoa is a public institution. Students who complete the communication media studies program here go on to a median salary of roughly $46,146.
Strong graduate earnings at University Of Hawaii At Hilo earned it the #3 place for communication media studies. Located in the town of Hilo, University Of Hawaii At Hilo is a public institution. Early-career communication media studies graduates from University Of Hawaii At Hilo make a median of around $44,892 per year.
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Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. Schools are ranked on the median early-career earnings of their communication media studies graduates, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).
Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 3 schools evaluated.
*Salary figures reflect median early-career earnings (about 5 years after graduation) and may vary by how long a person takes to complete their degree.
- 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.
- Graduate earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard) field-of-study earnings.
More about our data sources and methodologies.