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2024 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in California

47 Colleges in California
13,181 Communications Degrees Awarded
$37,861 Avg 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.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 47 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for communication & media studies students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 13,181 degrees in communication & media studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School

Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in California Your choice of communication & media studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. 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.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Communication & Media Studies Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Communications
Bachelor's Degrees in Communications
Master's Degrees in Communications
Doctor's Degrees in Communications

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. 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.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Communication & Media Studies in California

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.

10 Top California Schools in Communications

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
567 Communications Degrees Awarded
$54,939 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in communication & media studies needs to look into University of Southern California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 567 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from University of Southern California earn $17,078 more than the standard communications graduate.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of Southern California

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
268 Communications Degrees Awarded
$48,287 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in communication & media studies. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 268 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley receive an earnings boost of around $10,426 over the average earnings of communication & media studies graduates.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of California - Berkeley

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
300 Communications Degrees Awarded
$38,895 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Davis is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in communication & media studies. UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were roughly 300 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program report average early career wages of $38,895.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of California - Davis

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
469 Communications Degrees Awarded
$41,054 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Santa Barbara is a good choice for students interested in a degree in communication & media studies. UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara. 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 data year. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from University of California - Santa Barbara earn $3,193 more than the average communications grad.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of California - Santa Barbara

5
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
142 Communications Degrees Awarded
14.1% Growth in Graduates

SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 142 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent data year. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from Santa Clara University receive an earnings boost of around $15,179 above the average earnings of communication & media studies graduates.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Santa Clara University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
271 Communications Degrees Awarded
10.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population. 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 data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program report average early career wages of $34,173.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of California - San Diego

7
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
55 Communications Degrees Awarded
7.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were approximately 55 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from Stanford University receive an earnings boost of approximately $14,987 over the typical income of communication & media studies majors.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Stanford University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
343 Communications Degrees Awarded
$42,620 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 35th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 343 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent data year. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from San Francisco State University earn $4,759 more than the standard communications student.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from San Francisco State University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
332 Communications Degrees Awarded
12.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means San Jose State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 332 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent data year. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from San Jose State University get an earnings boost of about $7,301 over the average income of communication & media studies majors.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from San Jose State University

10
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
119 Communications Degrees Awarded
$41,755 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 24th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 119 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent data year. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from University of San Francisco earn $3,894 more than the typical communications student.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of San Francisco

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 1,137
Oregon 266 411
Nevada 192 367
Hawaii 164 265
Alaska 119 11

View All Rankings >

One of 5 majors within the Communication & Journalism area of study, Communication & Media Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Communications Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Speech Communication 10,928
Communications 1,552
Communication & Media Studies 428
Other Communication & Media Studies 273

View All Communications Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 2,551
Journalism 1,640
Public Relations & Advertising 906
Communication & Journalism (Other) 60
Publishing 4

View All Communications Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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