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2024 Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools

653 Colleges in the United States
94,757 Bachelor's Degrees
$32,860 Avg Early-Career Salary
a bachelor's degree in communication & journalism is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #8 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 653 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 94,757 bachelor's degrees in communication & journalism to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Communication & Journalism School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools Your choice of communication & journalism for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality communication & journalism program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

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 account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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

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

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for communication & journalism students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Communication & Journalism Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Communication & Journalism 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 Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools 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 Communication & Journalism in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in communication & journalism. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Communication & Journalism

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
374 Annual Graduates

Northwestern University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in communication & journalism. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
493 Annual Graduates

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

3
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
71 Annual Graduates

University of Pennsylvania is a good choice for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in communication & journalism. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Pennsylvania

4
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
368 Annual Graduates

New York University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in communication & journalism. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from New York University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
272 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
652 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
512 Annual Graduates

UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Wisconsin - Madison

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Cornell University

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,291 Annual Graduates

UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Austin.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from The University of Texas at Austin

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
268 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of California - Berkeley

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
300 Annual Graduates

UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Davis.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of California - Davis

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
39 Annual Graduates

Georgia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Atlanta.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
338 Annual Graduates

UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the city of Minneapolis.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

14
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
579 Annual Graduates

UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

15
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
462 Annual Graduates

UCSB is a very large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of California - Santa Barbara

16
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
142 Annual Graduates

SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Santa Clara.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Santa Clara University

17
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
267 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of California - San Diego

18
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
722 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Boston University

19
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
390 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Maryland - College Park

20
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
150 Annual Graduates

Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Villanova University

21
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,174 Annual Graduates

Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the city of East Lansing.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Michigan State University

22
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
149 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Purdue University - Main Campus

23
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
443 Annual Graduates

UW Seattle is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Seattle.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

24
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
123 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from George Washington University

25
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
187 Annual Graduates

Pepperdine is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Malibu.More information about a bachelor’s in communication & journalism from Pepperdine University

Rest of the Top 50 Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools

26
27
28
29
30
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
31
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
32
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

33

34
U Miami crest
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
35
Wake Forest University crest
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC
36
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
37
38
Boston College crest
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
39
40
41

42

43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA

Additional Award Winners

This list represents the rest of the schools awarded a Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 653 different United States communication & journalism schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
52 Bryant University Smithfield, RI
53 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
54 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
55 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
56 University of Oregon Eugene, OR
57 American University Washington, DC
58 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
59 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
60 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
61 University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Norman, OK
62 Emerson College Boston, MA
63 University of Dayton Dayton, OH
64 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ
65 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
66 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
67 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
68 Fordham University Bronx, NY
69 Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO
70 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
71 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
72 Washington State University Pullman, WA
73 Drake University Des Moines, IA
74 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
75 Elon University Elon, NC
76 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
77 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
78 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
79 Arizona State University - Skysong Scottsdale, AZ
80 Marist College Poughkeepsie, NY
81 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
82 Fairfield University Fairfield, CT
83 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
84 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
85 Ohio University - Athens Campus Athens, OH
86 DePaul University Chicago, IL
87 Iowa State University Ames, IA
88 Minnesota State University - Mankato Mankato, MN
89 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL
90 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
91 University of New Hampshire - Main Campus Durham, NH
92 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
93 Chapman University Orange, CA
94 Ball State University Muncie, IN
95 Denison University Granville, OH
96 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
97 Gonzaga University Spokane, WA

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
98 Fashion Institute of Technology New York, NY
99 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
100 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
101 Bradley University Peoria, IL
102 Towson University Towson, MD
103 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
104 Concordia College at Moorhead Moorhead, MN
105 DePauw University Greencastle, IN
106 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI
107 Rowan University Glassboro, NJ
108 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
109 University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI
110 Furman University Greenville, SC
111 Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL
112 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
113 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
114 University of North Texas Denton, TX
115 Saint Norbert College De Pere, WI
116 Samford University Birmingham, AL
117 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
118 University of Nevada - Reno Reno, NV
119 Belmont University Nashville, TN
120 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA
121 Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN
122 Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY
123 Emory University Atlanta, GA
123 University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD
124 Creighton University Omaha, NE
125 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
126 University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA
127 Wheaton College Illinois Wheaton, IL
128 Illinois State University Normal, IL
129 University of Houston Houston, TX
130 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA

Communication & Journalism by Region

View the Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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Communication & Journalism Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 53,798
Public Relations & Advertising 17,097
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 11,580
Journalism 11,502
Communication & Journalism (Other) 693
Publishing 87

Related Major Annual Graduates
Social Sciences 154,807
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 43,302
English Language & Literature 38,845
History 25,656
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 22,702
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 22,489
Philosophy & Religious Studies 14,685
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies 10,378
Theology & Religious Vocations 8,022

Notes and References

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