Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Communication & Journalism

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Journalism in California (With Aid)

56 Ranked Colleges
10,632 Degrees Awarded
$11,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Communication & Journalism is the 11th most popular major in the country with 121,387 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, communication and journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,549 and had an average of $24,893 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 18,646 communication and journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,210 and $21,875 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 10,632 communication and journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 56 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in communication and journalism. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality communication and journalism programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the communication and journalism program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Communication & Journalism Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Journalism in California (With Aid)

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Los Angeles. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. California State University - Los Angeles is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 364 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - Los Angeles is $2,768 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication & Journalism students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Cal State LA

#20 in overall quality

Out of the 56 schools in the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #2 spot on the list. Fullerton, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees to 919 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid list, Cal State Fullerton has also earned the #20 rank in our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $7,991 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid per year to attend Cal State Fullerton.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Fullerton Communication & Journalism Report

Out of the 56 schools in the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the #3 spot on the list. California State University - Fresno is a large public school situated in Fresno, California. It awarded 215 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $5,464 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication & Journalism students with aid per year to attend Fresno State.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 4.7% 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%.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at California State University - Fresno

Out of the 56 schools in the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the #4 spot on the list. CSUDH is a fairly large public school situated in Carson, California. It awarded 192 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for CSUDH is $4,215 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication & Journalism students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%.

Full CSUDH Communication & Journalism Report

#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees to 284 students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Berkeley is $15,329 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication & Journalism students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UC Berkeley Communication & Journalism Report

#6

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#5 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #6. UCSB is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 517 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Santa Barbara is $15,884 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication & Journalism students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Communication & Journalism at UCSB

#22 in overall quality

California State University - Long Beach came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. California State University - Long Beach is a public institution located in Long Beach, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 512 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSULB, the school also landed the #22 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $9,622 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid per year to attend CSULB.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at CSULB

California State University - Northridge did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Northridge, California, this large public school awarded 899 degrees to qualified bachelors’s communication and journalism students in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for CSUN is $8,414 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication & Journalism students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Communication & Journalism at CSUN

California State University - Bakersfield did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. This fairly large school is located in Bakersfield, California, and it awarded 98 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - Bakersfield is $5,318 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication & Journalism students with aid.

Full California State University - Bakersfield Communication & Journalism Report

California State University - Stanislaus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #10. California State University - Stanislaus is a fairly large public school situated in Turlock, California. It awarded 76 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $6,019 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid per year to attend California State University - Stanislaus.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 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.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Stan State

#6 in overall quality

University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #11. University of California - Davis is located in Davis, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 323 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid list, UC Davis has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,669 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid per year to attend UC Davis.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.9% 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%.

Full University of California - Davis Communication & Journalism Report

#9 in overall quality

University of California - San Diego came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. UCSD is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 239 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - San Diego is $14,232 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Communication & Journalism at UCSD

#23 in overall quality

California State University - Sacramento came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Sacramento, California, this large public school awarded 570 degrees to qualified bachelors’s communication and journalism students in 2019-2020.

Sac State also made our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #23. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Sacramento is $9,979 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Sac State

#14

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#3 in overall quality

With a ranking of #14, Stanford University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 19 degrees to qualified bachelors’s communication and journalism students in 2019-2020.

Stanford also took the #3 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $11,496 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid per year to attend Stanford.

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 student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Stanford University Communication & Journalism Report

#15

California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino, California

California State University - San Bernardino landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. San Bernardino, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees to 206 students in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for CSUSB is $7,342 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at California State University - San Bernardino

#16

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#24 in overall quality

San Diego State University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 428 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #24 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend San Diego State University is $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, 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 89%.

Full SDSU Communication & Journalism Report

California State University - San Marcos landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. California State University - San Marcos is a fairly large school located in San Marcos, California that handed out 278 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - San Marcos is $13,399 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full CSUSM Communication & Journalism Report

#25 in overall quality

University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #18. UC Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 36 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees to qualified students.

UC Irvine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #25 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication & Journalism students with aid per year to attend University of California - Irvine.

The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Communication & Journalism at UC Irvine

#19

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#14 in overall quality

With a ranking of #19, San Jose State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 451 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State University is $14,928 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication & Journalism students with aid.

The low 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Full San Jose State University Communication & Journalism Report

#20

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#21 in overall quality

With a ranking of #20, San Francisco State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Located in San Francisco, California, this large public school awarded 650 degrees to qualified bachelors’s communication and journalism students in 2019-2020.

SFSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #21 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $15,113 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid per year to attend San Francisco State University.

Read more about Communication & Journalism at SFSU

California State University - East Bay ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. This fairly large school is located in Hayward, California, and it awarded 160 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $11,116 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid per year to attend California State University - East Bay.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at California State University - East Bay

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Cal Poly Pomona is located in Pomona, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 152 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees to qualified students.

It costs about $12,734 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid per year to attend Cal Poly Pomona.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Cal Poly Pomona

With a ranking of #23, California State University - Channel Islands did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. California State University - Channel Islands is located in Camarillo, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 122 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees to qualified students.

It costs about $13,558 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication & Journalism students with aid per year to attend California State University - Channel Islands.

The low student loan default rate of 2.1% 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 full report on Communication & Journalism at CSUCI

#12 in overall quality

With a ranking of #24, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is located in San Luis Obispo, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 138 bachelors’s communication and journalism degrees to qualified students.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is $21,595 for california bachelor’s degree communication & journalism students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Communication & Journalism Report

California State University - Chico came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Chico, California, this fairly large public school awarded 190 degrees to qualified bachelors’s communication and journalism students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $15,017 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication & Journalism students with aid per year to attend California State University - Chico.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Communication & Journalism at Chico State

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

Featured Communications / Public Relations Schools

Find Schools Near You