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2024 Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

23 Colleges in California
1,124 Bachelor's Degrees
$32,592 Avg Early-Career Salary
a bachelor's degree in journalism is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #46 out of 363 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 23 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of journalism. Combined, these schools handed out 1,124 bachelor's degrees in journalism to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Journalism School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of journalism for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality journalism program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

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.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete 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.

More Ways to Rank Journalism Schools

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

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.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Journalism in California

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for journalism students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Journalism

1
79 Annual Graduates
$44,188 Median Starting Salary
$16,250 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat University of Southern California if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in journalism. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those journalism students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California make $11,596 more than the typical journalism graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from University of Southern California

2
170 Annual Graduates
$33,791 Median Starting Salary
$14,998 Median Student Debt

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in journalism needs to look into San Diego State University. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the journalism program earn about $33,791 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from San Diego State University

3
29 Annual Graduates

Loyola Marymount University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in journalism. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Loyola Marymount University

4
32 Annual Graduates
$28,207 Median Starting Salary
$16,900 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat University of California - Irvine if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in journalism. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduation, journalism bachelor's recipients generally earn around $28,207 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from University of California - Irvine

5
80 Annual Graduates
$39,869 Median Starting Salary
$19,333 Median Student Debt

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Journalism bachelor's degree recipients from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo get an earnings boost of around $7,277 above the typical earnings of journalism majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

6
109 Annual Graduates
$29,760 Median Starting Salary
$15,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the journalism program state that they receive average early career wages of $29,760.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from California State University - Long Beach

7
31 Annual Graduates
$36,779 Median Starting Salary
$22,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the medium-sized city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the journalism degree program at Chapman University get $4,187 above the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Chapman University

8
49 Annual Graduates
$37,827 Median Starting Salary
$18,750 Median Student Debt

Chico State is a large public university located in the city of Chico.

Journalism bachelor's degree recipients from California State University - Chico earn a boost of about $5,235 above the typical earnings of journalism majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from California State University - Chico

9

Pepperdine is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Malibu.

Soon after graduating, journalism bachelor's recipients typically make an average of $31,797 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from Pepperdine University

10
161 Annual Graduates
$27,428 Median Starting Salary
$15,480 Median Student Debt

CSUN is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Northridge.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the journalism program report average early career income of $27,428.

More information about a bachelor’s in journalism from California State University - Northridge

Best Journalism Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Journalism Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 213
Oregon 185 143
Nevada 129 124
Hawaii 112 11
Alaska 75 19

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Journalism is one of 5 different types of Communication & Journalism programs to choose from.

Journalism Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Journalism 1,052
Other Journalism 40
Broadcast Journalism 32

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 7,630
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 1,296
Public Relations & Advertising 698
Communication & Journalism (Other) 48
Publishing 4

Notes and References

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