Communication & Media Studies is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #5 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 45 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 7,630 bachelor's degrees in communication & media studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Your choice of communication & media studies for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on communication & media studies students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other communication & media studies students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How much debt communication & media studies students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized communication & media studies related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for communication & media studies students working on their bachelor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California 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.
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.
BA in Communication
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.
Learn More
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies.
10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Communications
University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California make $10,136 more than the standard communications graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University of Southern California
University of California - Berkeley is a great option for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Communication & Media Studies bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley receive an earnings boost of approximately $12,044 over the typical income of communication & media studies graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University of California - Berkeley
It is hard to beat University of California - Davis if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. UC Davis is a very large public university located in the suburb of Davis.
Communication & Media Studies bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Davis earn a boost of around $2,652 above the average income of communication & media studies graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University of California - Davis
It is hard to beat University of California - Santa Barbara if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in communication & media studies. UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.
Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Santa Barbara make $4,811 more than the typical communications student.
More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from University of California - Santa Barbara
SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.
Those communication & media studies students who get their bachelor's degree from Santa Clara University receive $16,797 more than the standard communications student.
More information about a bachelor’s in communication & media studies from Santa Clara University
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