College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Plains States Region

57 Colleges in the Plains States Region
3,456 Communications Degrees Awarded
$35,709 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #10 in popularity, communication & media studies is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 57 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of communication & media studies. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,456 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 the Plains States Region Your choice of communication & media studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for communication & media studies schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each 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

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Plains States Region list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Communication & Media Studies in the Plains States Region

The schools below may not offer all types of communications degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Plains States Region Schools in Communications

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
17th Most Popular In MN
53.8% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in communication & media studies needs to take a look at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the city of Minneapolis. A Best Colleges rank of #51 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UMN Twin Cities is a great university overall.

There were approximately 13 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

2
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
162 Communications Degrees Awarded
3.1% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in communication & media studies has to look into University of Kansas. Located in the small city of Lawrence, KU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means KU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 162 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at KU in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, communications degree recipients generally earn around $35,383 in the first five years of their career.

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

3
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
216 Communications Degrees Awarded
2.3% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of Iowa if you wish to pursue a degree in communication & media studies. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #84 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.

There were about 216 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Iowa 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 $37,289.

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

4
Drake crest
Drake University
Des Moines, IA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In IA
41 Communications Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat Drake University if you wish to pursue a degree in communication & media studies. Drake is a small private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines. A Best Colleges rank of #224 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Drake is a great university overall.

There were about 41 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Drake in the most recent year we have data available.

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

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
223 Communications Degrees Awarded
12.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #124 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Mizzou is a great university overall.

There were approximately 223 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Mizzou in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from University of Missouri - Columbia earn $8,221 more than the typical communications student.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of Missouri - Columbia

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Communications Degrees Awarded
$37,220 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Lincoln, UNL is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #138 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNL is a great university overall.

There were approximately 47 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at UNL 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 $37,220.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from University of Nebraska - Lincoln

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
141 Communications Degrees Awarded
3.5% Growth in Graduates

Minnesota State Mankato is a large public university located in the small city of Mankato. This university ranks 13th out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were approximately 141 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Minnesota State Mankato in the most recent data year. Communication & Media Studies degree recipients from Minnesota State University - Mankato earn a boost of around $3,574 above the average income of communication & media studies majors.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Minnesota State University - Mankato

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$38,632 Median Starting Salary
$26,959 Median Student Debt

Concordia College Moorhead is a small private not-for-profit college located in the medium-sized suburb of Moorhead. This college ranks 20th out of 52 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were about 22 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Concordia College Moorhead in the most recent year we have data available. Those communication & media studies students who get their degree from Concordia College at Moorhead make $2,923 more than the standard communications student.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Concordia College at Moorhead

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
92 Communications Degrees Awarded
15.2% Growth in Graduates

Iowa State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Ames. A Best Colleges rank of #75 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.

There were about 92 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the communication & media studies program at Iowa State University make $2,523 above the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
105 Communications Degrees Awarded
$36,050 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Saint Cloud, St. Cloud State University is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 24th out of 52 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were about 105 communication & media studies students who graduated with this degree at St. Cloud State University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the communications program report average early career earnings of $36,050.

More information about a degree in communication & media studies from Saint Cloud State University

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best communication & media studies colleges for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 284 876
Missouri 283 1,003
Kansas 266 489
Iowa 264 552
Nebraska 238 156
North Dakota 210 131
South Dakota 204 159

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 2,089
Communications 745
Communication & Media Studies 564
Other Communication & Media Studies 58

View All Communications Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Communications

Related Major Annual Graduates
Journalism 1,644
Public Relations & Advertising 1,308
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 308
Communication & Journalism (Other) 165
Publishing 22

View All Communications Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options