2021 Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Middle Atlantic Region
84Colleges
8,175Bachelor's Degrees
$37,950Avg Cost*
Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools for Non-Traditional Students
This year's Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking analyzed 84 colleges that offered a bachelor's degree in communications. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality communication & media studies programs as well as strong support for students classified as non-traditional.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the communication & media studies program at the school, affordability, and non-traditional population. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Communication & Media Studies Schools
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Communications Schools for Non-Traditional Students list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
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Featured Communication & Media Studies Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
With an online bachelor's degree in communication you'll have the opportunity to pursue a multitude of career options. From journalism and social media, to public relations, advertising and mass media, earning your BA in communication will allow you to strategize and communicate your ideas.
Effective communicators are always in demand, no matter the industry. The Master's in Communication degree from Southern New Hampshire University is a cutting-edge program designed for forward-thinking professionals.
Cornell University has taken the #1 spot in this year's communication & media studies ranking for non-traditional students. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population. Cornell did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.4%. Approximately 2,837 students take at least one class online at Cornell. There are roughly 574 part time students in attendance at Cornell.
Our rankings recognize Villanova University as the #2 school in this year's rankings. Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, Villanova has also earned the #4 rank in our Best Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking.
The student loan default rate at Villanova is lower than is typical, just 0.3% of students default in three years. 1,551 students at Villanova are exclusively online. 2,678 students are part time.
Our rankings recognize University of Maryland - College Park as the #3 school in this year's rankings. UMCP is a very large public school located in the large suburb of College Park. UMCP did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.7%. There are approximately 11,700 students at UMCP that take at least one class online. There are roughly 4,841 part time students in attendance at UMCP.
The #4 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Marist College. Located in the suburb of Poughkeepsie, Marist is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, Marist has also earned the #7 rank in our Best Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking.
About 1.1% of Marist students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 1,703 students take at least one class online at Marist. 1,103 of Marist students are attending part time.
American University comes in at #5 in this year's ranking. Located in the city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population. The American University not only placed well in our non-traditional rankings. It is also #5 on our Best Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region list.
The student loan default rate at The American University is lower than is typical, just 0.9% of students default in three years. Approximately 5,283 students take at least one class online at The American University. There are roughly 3,612 part time students in attendance at The American University.
Our rankings recognize University of Maryland Global Campus as the #6 school in this year's rankings. UMGC is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Adelphi.
About 1.2% of UMGC students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 47,272 students at UMGC are exclusively online. 45,251 students are part time.
Towson University comes in at #7 in this year's ranking. Towson is a large public school located in the city of Towson.
About 1.7% of Towson students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 6,258 students at Towson that take at least one class online. About 4,337 of the students at Towson are attending part time.
Rutgers University - New Brunswick earned the #8 spot in our 2021 rankings. Rutgers New Brunswick is a very large public school located in the city of New Brunswick. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Rutgers New Brunswick also is in the top 15% of our Best Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.1%. Approximately 30,054 students take at least one class online at Rutgers New Brunswick. About 7,559 of the students at Rutgers New Brunswick are attending part time.
The #9 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Pace University - New York. Pace University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.9%. There are approximately 6,120 students at Pace University that take at least one class online. About 3,498 of the students at Pace University are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize University at Buffalo as the #10 school in this year's rankings. University at Buffalo is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Buffalo. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, University at Buffalo has also earned the #9 rank in our Best Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking.
About 1.3% of University at Buffalo students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 16,575 students take at least one class online at University at Buffalo. 5,053 of University at Buffalo students are attending part time.
The College of New Jersey comes in at #11 in this year's ranking. Located in the large suburb of Ewing, TCNJ is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, TCNJ also did well on our Best Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region list. It's in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
About 0.8% of TCNJ students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 1,040 students at TCNJ that take at least one class online. About 570 of the students at TCNJ are attending part time.
Saint Joseph's University earned the #12 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the city of Philadelphia, St. Joe's is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population. St. Joe's excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region list.
About 1.2% of St. Joe’s students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 2,032 of St. Joe’s students are exclusively distance learners. 2,163 students are part time.
Here are some additional great schools for Middle Atlantic Region non-traditional students studying Communications that almost earned our Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Middle Atlantic Region award.
Non-Traditional Student Rankings in Majors Related to Communications
Communication & Media Studies is one of 5 different types of Communication & Journalism programs to choose from.
Notes and References
Footnotes
*Avg Cost is for the top 25 schools only.
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 the rest 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).
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