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2024 Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

14 Colleges in California
698 Bachelor's Degrees
$41,033 Avg Early-Career Salary
Public Relations & Advertising is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #32 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 14 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 698 bachelor's degrees in public relations & advertising to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Public Relations & Advertising School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of public relations & advertising for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

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.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

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 public relations & advertising students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Public Relations Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Public Relations & Advertising in California

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Public Relations

1
78 Annual Graduates
$46,759 Median Starting Salary
$20,251 Median Student Debt

University of Southern California is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Bachelor's recipients from the public relations & advertising program at University of Southern California make $5,726 above the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from University of Southern California

2
148 Annual Graduates
$46,780 Median Starting Salary
$26,000 Median Student Debt

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising needs to take a look at Pepperdine University. Located in the suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the public relations & advertising program at Pepperdine University get $5,747 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Pepperdine University

3

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising needs to look into San Jose State University. San Jose State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of San Jose.

Those public relations & advertising students who get their bachelor's degree from San Jose State University receive $8,706 more than the average public relations student.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from San Jose State University

4
54 Annual Graduates
$43,478 Median Starting Salary
$22,625 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat Chapman University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising. Chapman is a large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Orange.

Those public relations & advertising students who get their bachelor's degree from Chapman University earn $2,445 more than the standard public relations grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Chapman University

5
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
32 Annual Graduates
$45,954 Median Starting Salary
$23,250 Median Student Debt

USFCA is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Francisco.

Public Relations & Advertising bachelor's degree recipients from University of San Francisco get an earnings boost of approximately $4,921 over the average earnings of public relations & advertising majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from University of San Francisco

6
53 Annual Graduates
$37,838 Median Starting Salary
$17,038 Median Student Debt

SDSU is a very large public university located in the city of San Diego.

After graduation, public relations bachelor's recipients usually make about $37,838 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from San Diego State University

7
10 Annual Graduates
$18,493 Median Student Debt

Azusa Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Azusa.More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Azusa Pacific University

8
Biola crest
Biola University
La Mirada, CA
33 Annual Graduates
$37,928 Median Starting Salary
$21,104 Median Student Debt

Located in the large suburb of La Mirada, Biola is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the public relations program make about $37,928 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Biola University

9
54 Annual Graduates
$23,012 Median Student Debt

CSULB is a very large public university located in the large city of Long Beach.More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from California State University - Long Beach

10
19 Annual Graduates

PLNU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Diego.More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Point Loma Nazarene University

Best Public Relations & Advertising Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 358
Oregon 185 621

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

Public Relations Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Public Relations 266
Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication 140
Advertising 121
Other Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication 83
Health Communication 58
General Organizational Communication 26
International & Intercultural Communication 4

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 7,630
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 1,296
Journalism 1,124
Communication & Journalism (Other) 48
Publishing 4

Notes and References

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