by our College Data Analytics TeamIn 2024, College Factual analyzed 228 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 11,502 bachelor's degrees in journalism during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
The journalism bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for journalism students working on their bachelor's degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for 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.
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for journalism students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in journalism. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Those journalism students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California earn $12,624 more than the average journalism graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from University of Southern California
Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in journalism has to check out University of Wisconsin - Madison. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Journalism bachelor's degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison receive an earnings boost of approximately $10,447 above the typical income of journalism graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from University of Wisconsin - Madison
George Washington University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in journalism. GWU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.
Journalism bachelor's degree recipients from George Washington University receive an earnings boost of around $11,213 above the typical earnings of journalism majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from George Washington University
It is difficult to beat The University of Texas at Austin if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in journalism. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Journalism bachelor's degree recipients from The University of Texas at Austin earn a boost of about $2,388 over the typical income of journalism graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from The University of Texas at Austin
Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Journalism bachelor's degree recipients from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities receive an earnings boost of about $6,846 over the typical earnings of journalism majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston.
Those journalism students who get their bachelor's degree from Boston University earn $5,153 more than the average journalism student.
More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Boston UniversityMizzou is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Columbia. Those journalism students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Missouri - Columbia receive $5,854 more than the standard journalism graduate. UMCP is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of College Park. Bachelor's recipients from the journalism degree program at University of Maryland - College Park earn $6,752 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation. Syracuse is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Syracuse. Those journalism students who get their bachelor's degree from Syracuse University make $7,799 more than the standard journalism grad. KU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Lawrence. Bachelor's recipients from the journalism program at University of Kansas earn $6,349 above the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.7
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Located in the midsize suburb of Norman, University of Oklahoma is a public university with a very large student population.
Those journalism students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus receive $3,665 more than the typical journalism graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from University of Oklahoma Norman CampusLocated in the large city of Boston, Emerson is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population. Bachelor's recipients from the journalism major at Emerson College earn $7,111 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation. Iowa is a very large public university located in the city of Iowa City. Those journalism students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Iowa earn $2,528 more than the average journalism student. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. After graduating, journalism bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $32,480 in the first five years of their career. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. Bachelor's recipients from the journalism program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign get $3,895 above the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.12
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IU Bloomington is a fairly large public university located in the city of Bloomington.
Bachelor's recipients from the journalism major at Indiana University - Bloomington make $6,025 above the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Indiana University - BloomingtonCU - Boulder is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Boulder. Journalism bachelor's degree recipients from University of Colorado Boulder earn a boost of approximately $7,061 above the typical earnings of journalism majors. Located in the medium-sized city of Athens, UGA is a public university with a fairly large student population. After graduating, journalism bachelor's recipients generally make around $32,164 in their early careers. UNL is a fairly large public university located in the city of Lincoln. After graduation, journalism bachelor's recipients typically earn about $31,283 in their early careers. Located in the small city of Coral Gables, U Miami is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. Soon after graduating, journalism bachelor's recipients usually earn an average of $32,587 in their early careers.17
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Located in the suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Southern Methodist University
The American University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington. Those journalism students who get their bachelor's degree from American University earn $8,970 more than the typical journalism grad. Located in the city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. Bachelor's recipients from the journalism degree program at Texas Christian University get $6,632 above the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation. Located in the small city of Fayetteville, UARK is a public university with a fairly large student population. Bachelor's recipients from the journalism program at University of Arkansas make $4,782 more than the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce. Baylor is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Waco. Those journalism students who get their bachelor's degree from Baylor University earn $6,067 more than the average journalism grad.22
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Annual Graduates$38,196
Median Starting Salary24
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Here are some additional great schools for Journalism students that almost earned our Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools award.Rank College Location 35 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA 36 University of Oregon Eugene, OR 37 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA 38 University of North Texas Denton, TX 39 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 40 Samford University Birmingham, AL 41 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH 42 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA 43 Iowa State University Ames, IA 44 University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 45 Ball State University Muncie, IN
View the Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
One of 5 majors within the Communication & Journalism area of study, Journalism has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Journalism | 9,906 |
| Broadcast Journalism | 762 |
| Other Journalism | 724 |
| Photojournalism | 103 |
| Business and Economic Journalism | 7 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Communication & Media Studies | 53,798 |
| Public Relations & Advertising | 17,097 |
| Radio, Television & Digital Communication | 11,580 |
| Communication & Journalism (Other) | 693 |
| Publishing | 87 |
