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2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in California

6 Ranked Colleges
26 Degrees Awarded
$41,300 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Communication & Media Studies is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 10th of all the majors we analyze. In 2020-2021, 66,787 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2019-2020, communication and 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 California, there were 13,181 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,861 and $20,384 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 26 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,525 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in California” ranking analyzed 6 colleges that offered a degree in communication and media studies. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their communication and media studies program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.

For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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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 “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in California” 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.

Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in California

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in California”.

Top 6 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in California

1
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in California list. University of Southern California is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 18 doctorate’s communications degrees to qualified students.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full USC Communication & Media Studies Report

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Barbara. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in California list. University of California - Santa Barbara is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s communications degrees to qualified students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at University of California - Santa Barbara

3
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in California list. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s communications students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Stanford

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in California. Located in La Jolla, California, this large public school awarded 2 degrees to qualified doctorate’s communications students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at University of California - San Diego

5

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Davis. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in California. University of California - Davis is located in Davis, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 300 doctorate’s communications degrees to qualified students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad 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 Communication & Media Studies at University of California - Davis

5
Chapman crest
Chapman University
Orange, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Chapman University. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in California. Chapman University is located in Orange, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 101 doctorate’s communications degrees to qualified students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Chapman Communication & Media Studies Report

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