by our College Data Analytics Team
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 the Great Lakes Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 66,787 communication and media studies students received their degree, making the major the 10th most popular in the country. 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 the Great Lakes region, there were 9,064 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,036 and $25,485 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 101 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,305 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 15 colleges that offered a degree in communication and media studies. That schools that top this list have a program in communication and media studies in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes 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.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region”.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s communications degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
Out of the 15 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Michigan State University landed the #2 spot on the list. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s communications degrees to 19 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Michigan State
Out of the 15 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. BGSU is a fairly large public school situated in Bowling Green, Ohio. It awarded 6 doctorate’s communications degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region list. UWM is a large school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that handed out 7 doctorate’s communications degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio University - Athens Campus is located in Athens, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 doctorate’s communications degrees to qualified students.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Ohio University - Athens Campus
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #6 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s communications degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%.
University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #7. Madison, Wisconsin is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s communications degrees to 11 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.
Read more about Communication & Media Studies at University of Wisconsin - Madison
Wayne State University ranked #8 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Detroit, Michigan, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s communications degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Wayne State University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s communications degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.
Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Columbus, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s communications degrees to 7 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%.
Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Purdue is a large public school situated in West Lafayette, Indiana. It awarded 5 doctorate’s communications degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 Purdue University - Main Campus Communication & Media Studies Report
Northwestern University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #12. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 doctorate’s communications degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Northwestern
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. U-M is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Communication & Media Studies Report
University of Illinois at Chicago ranked #14 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s communications degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%.
Full University of Illinois at Chicago Communication & Media Studies Report
With a ranking of #15, Kent State University at Kent did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Communications Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Kent, Ohio, and it awarded 176 doctorate’s communications degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Kent State University at Kent
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
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