Best Colleges for Communication & Media Studies
50 Communication & Media Studies programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.
For Communication & Media Studies, Cornell University (New York) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $88,463. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.
| # | School | Credential | Median earnings | Median debt | Completers | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $88,463 | $14,400 | 88 | 96 |
| 2 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA | Bachelor's Degree | $114,266 | $15,000 | 63 | 95.5 |
| 3 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $75,612 | $11,100 | 258 | 95.2 |
| 4 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL | Bachelor's Degree | $93,541 | $17,687 | 90 | 94.8 |
| 5 | Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $83,586 | $18,000 | 191 | 94.3 |
| 6 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $84,206 | $17,832 | 137 | 94.2 |
| 7 | University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $72,976 | $13,000 | 582 | 94.1 |
| 8 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $75,864 | $15,875 | 326 | 94.1 |
| 9 | University of California-Davis Davis, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $72,778 | $13,000 | 293 | 93.6 |
| 10 | University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD | Bachelor's Degree | $74,402 | $17,250 | 354 | 92.9 |
| 11 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $75,223 | $14,857 | 77 | 92.5 |
| 12 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC | Bachelor's Degree | $70,240 | $14,625 | 560 | 92.4 |
| 13 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI | Bachelor's Degree | $79,648 | $19,941 | 255 | 92 |
| 14 | CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $72,564 | $12,901 | 49 | 90.6 |
| 15 | University of Arizona Tucson, AZ | Bachelor's Degree | $72,758 | $18,910 | 259 | 90.5 |
| 16 | CUNY City College New York, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $69,948 | $14,858 | 86 | 90.3 |
| 17 | Chapman University Orange, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $73,461 | $18,777 | 104 | 89.9 |
| 18 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $72,210 | $19,500 | 234 | 89.5 |
| 19 | University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $67,302 | $13,193 | 278 | 89.3 |
| 20 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $69,144 | $17,750 | 125 | 88.5 |
| 21 | Northeastern University Boston, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $80,191 | $21,500 | 135 | 88.5 |
| 22 | Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $85,278 | $22,260 | 91 | 88 |
| 23 | Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $68,833 | $17,877 | 103 | 87.4 |
| 24 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO | Bachelor's Degree | $66,623 | $16,500 | 204 | 87.4 |
| 25 | Northeastern University Professional Programs Boston, MA | Master's Degree | $97,115 | — | 73 | 87.4 |
| 26 | University of Georgia Athens, GA | Bachelor's Degree | $68,319 | $17,250 | 121 | 87.2 |
| 27 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $110,796 | — | 63 | 87.1 |
| 28 | University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV | Bachelor's Degree | $68,953 | $17,232 | 58 | 87.1 |
| 29 | Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC | Bachelor's Degree | $77,984 | $22,250 | 130 | 87.1 |
| 30 | Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $64,533 | $15,750 | 407 | 86.8 |
| 31 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $63,731 | $13,703 | 264 | 86.3 |
| 32 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $64,153 | $15,000 | 314 | 86.3 |
| 33 | Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA | Bachelor's Degree | $76,945 | $23,082 | 176 | 86.2 |
| 34 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | Bachelor's Degree | $66,439 | $18,850 | 315 | 85.9 |
| 35 | Boston University Boston, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $80,306 | $23,250 | 134 | 85.9 |
| 36 | Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN | Bachelor's Degree | $65,517 | $17,375 | 151 | 85.7 |
| 37 | Brigham Young University Provo, UT | Bachelor's Degree | $68,843 | $19,680 | 94 | 85.6 |
| 38 | The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ | Bachelor's Degree | $68,654 | $19,500 | 80 | 85.4 |
| 39 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ | Bachelor's Degree | $69,709 | $21,500 | 323 | 85.1 |
| 40 | University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $64,153 | $15,000 | 112 | 85.1 |
| 41 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA | Master's Degree | $84,280 | — | 40 | 84.7 |
| 42 | University of Connecticut Storrs, CT | Bachelor's Degree | $68,542 | $21,036 | 231 | 84.5 |
| 43 | University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT | Bachelor's Degree | $63,309 | $17,500 | 322 | 84 |
| 44 | University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $64,153 | $15,000 | 63 | 84 |
| 45 | University of Oregon Eugene, OR | Bachelor's Degree | $70,532 | $16,500 | 11 | 83.9 |
| 46 | Utah Valley University Orem, UT | Bachelor's Degree | $62,566 | $13,942 | 131 | 83.9 |
| 47 | Fordham University Bronx, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $77,244 | $24,615 | 131 | 83.7 |
| 48 | Texas State University San Marcos, TX | Master's Degree | $70,534 | $20,500 | 33 | 83.5 |
| 49 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA | Bachelor's Degree | $66,436 | $20,500 | 399 | 83.5 |
| 50 | Weber State University Ogden, UT | Master's Degree | $84,841 | — | 27 | 83.3 |
How we ranked this
Programs are scored 0–100 within the Communication & Media Studies field (CIP 09.01) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Communication & Media Studies programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.
Frequently asked questions
Which college has the best Communication & Media Studies program?+
By our outcome score, Cornell University (New York) ranks #1 for Communication & Media Studies, with median graduate earnings of $88,463.
How are these Communication & Media Studies programs ranked?+
Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.
Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+
The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.
Can I filter Communication & Media Studies programs by state or degree level?+
Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.