by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Journalism is the 69th most popular major in the country with 13,552 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $32,953 and had an average of $23,734 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Southwest region, there were 1,758 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,691 and $23,007 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region” ranking analyzed 46 colleges that offered a degree in journalism. This ranking identifies schools that graduate the most students in journalism.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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 “Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region” list to help you make the college decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region journalism students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of North Texas. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region. University of North Texas is a public institution located in Denton, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 299 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Oklahoma Norman Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region. University of Oklahoma is located in Norman, Oklahoma and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 279 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Journalism at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Arizona State University - Tempe. The school came in at #3 for the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region. ASU - Tempe is a public institution located in Tempe, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 236 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas at Austin. The school came in at #4 for the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region. UT Austin is a public institution located in Austin, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 181 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Journalism at The University of Texas at Austin
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Arizona. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region list. University of Arizona is a large school located in Tucson, Arizona that handed out 94 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
With a ranking of #6, University of Houston did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region list. UH is a large public school situated in Houston, Texas. It awarded 84 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Baylor University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #7. Baylor University is located in Waco, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 77 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Central Oklahoma did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #8. Edmond, Oklahoma is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s journalism degrees to 60 students in 2020-2021.
Southern Methodist University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in Dallas, Texas, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 52 degrees to qualified ’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Texas State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #10. This large school is located in San Marcos, Texas, and it awarded 38 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
New Mexico State University - Main Campus ranked #11 on this year’s Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region list. This fairly large school is located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and it awarded 37 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Journalism at New Mexico State University - Main Campus
University of New Mexico - Main Campus ranked #12 on this year’s Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region list. This large school is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and it awarded 33 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Northern Arizona University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region ranking. NAU is a large school located in Flagstaff, Arizona that handed out 32 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Oklahoma State University - Main Campus landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Oklahoma State University - Main Campus is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 30 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read full report on Journalism at Oklahoma State University - Main Campus
Texas Christian University ranked #15 on this year’s Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region list. Texas Christian University is a fairly large school located in Fort Worth, Texas that handed out 27 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Austin Community College District did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #16. Located in Austin, Texas, this large public school handed out 22 diplomas to qualified ’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Journalism at Austin Community College District
With a ranking of #16, Texas Tech University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region list. Located in Lubbock, Texas, this large public school handed out 22 degrees to qualified ’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Texas Southern University ranked #16 on this year’s Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region list. Located in Houston, Texas, this medium-sized public school handed out 22 degrees to qualified ’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
Angelo State University landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Angelo State is located in San Angelo, Texas and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 16 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
With a ranking of #20, Oklahoma City Community College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region list. This fairly large school is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and it awarded 14 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Cameron University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region ranking. This small school is located in Lawton, Oklahoma, and it awarded 13 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
El Paso Community College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #22. Located in El Paso, Texas, this large public school handed out 12 diplomas to qualified ’s journalism students in 2020-2021.
Northeastern State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #22. NSU is located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 12 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Langston University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #24. Langston University is a public institution located in Langston, Oklahoma. The school has a small population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #24, West Texas A&M University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Journalism Major in the Southwest Region list. West Texas A&M University is a medium-sized school located in Canyon, Texas that handed out 8 ’s journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
