2024 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region
71Colleges in the Far Western US Region
15,404Communications Degrees Awarded
$37,160Avg Early-Career Salary
Communication & Media Studies is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #10 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 71 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 15,404 degrees in communication & media studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School
The communications program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Communication & Media Studies rankings. For our Best Overall Communication & Media Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Communication & Media Studies Rankings by Degree Level
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
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.
Best Schools for Communication & Media Studies in the Far Western US Region
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the communications degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
10 Top Far Western US Region Schools in Communications
University of Southern California is a good choice for students interested in a degree in communication & media studies. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were about 567 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from University of Southern California make $17,779 more than the standard communications graduate.
It's hard to beat University of California - Berkeley if you want to pursue a degree in communication & media studies. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were about 268 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the communication & media studies major at University of California - Berkeley make $11,127 above the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
University of California - Davis is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in communication & media studies. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.
There were approximately 300 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program report average early career income of $38,895.
University of California - Santa Barbara is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in communication & media studies. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.
There were approximately 469 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the communication & media studies program at University of California - Santa Barbara make $3,894 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.
There were about 142 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from Santa Clara University earn a boost of about $15,880 over the typical income of communication & media studies majors.
UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the city of La Jolla. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.
There were approximately 271 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program report average early career income of $34,173.
Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #37 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UW Seattle is a great university overall.
There were approximately 411 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program state that they receive average early career income of $37,823.
Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.
There were roughly 55 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from Stanford University receive an earnings boost of around $15,688 over the typical earnings of communication & media studies graduates.
SFSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Francisco. This university ranks 35th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 343 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent year we have data available. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from San Francisco State University receive an earnings boost of approximately $5,460 over the average earnings of communication & media studies majors.
UNLV is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Las Vegas. A Best Colleges rank of #149 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNLV is a great university overall.
There were roughly 259 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UNLV in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program report average early career income of $35,346.
Here are some additional great schools for Communication & Media Studies students in the Far Western US Region that almost earned our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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).