Ranked by graduate earnings

Best colleges for Journalism

50 Journalism programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion - from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

Quick answer

For Journalism, University of Southern California (California) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $79,776. 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	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$79,776	$15,000	92	95.1
2	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$73,747	$13,654	45	91
3	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$81,935	$19,500	30	89.3
4	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$80,258	$14,834	0	87.8
5	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	Master's Degree	$77,057	$20,877	45	87.2
6	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	Bachelor's Degree	$75,967	$21,500	196	86.9
7	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	Bachelor's Degree	$71,466	$15,500	27	86.5
8	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	Master's Degree	$84,165	$22,010	38	86.5
9	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$70,829	$19,500	58	85.9
10	Boston University Boston, MA	Master's Degree	$82,549	-	38	85.1
11	Elon University Elon, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$69,964	$18,000	33	85
12	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$67,878	$17,250	42	84.6
13	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	Bachelor's Degree	$69,016	$21,000	390	84.3
14	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	Bachelor's Degree	$66,799	$19,500	111	83.6
15	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	Bachelor's Degree	$64,224	$18,340	158	83.3
16	Georgetown University Washington, DC	Master's Degree	$90,356	-	17	83.1
17	Chapman University Orange, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$79,135	$22,290	25	82
18	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	Bachelor's Degree	$68,128	$21,500	142	81.7
19	George Washington University Washington, DC	Bachelor's Degree	$81,927	$25,000	69	81.5
20	George Washington University Washington, DC	Master's Degree	$89,072	-	5	80.9
21	University of Georgia Athens, GA	Master's Degree	$70,926	$22,394	53	80.6
22	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$67,539	$21,000	58	80.4
23	Maine College of Art & Design Portland, ME	Graduate/Professional Certificate	$63,479	$17,470	36	79.6
24	California State University-Chico Chico, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$63,358	$18,618	44	79.5
25	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR	Bachelor's Degree	$66,087	$21,500	124	79.2
26	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$79,742	-	10	78.9
27	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE	Master's Degree	$73,130	-	28	78.8
28	Northeastern University Boston, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$74,709	$24,005	31	77.7
29	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA	Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma	$63,138	$20,500	55	76.8
30	Utah State University Logan, UT	Bachelor's Degree	$61,724	$16,932	61	76.8
31	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$61,145	$17,250	147	76.7
32	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Master's Degree	$76,747	-	0	76.6
33	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	Master's Degree	$78,880	$69,000	380	76.5
34	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY	Master's Degree	$74,266	-	9	76.1
35	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$69,181	-	27	75.9
36	St Bonaventure University Saint Bonaventure, NY	Master's Degree	$82,191	$27,582	29	75.8
37	CGSU CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY	Master's Degree	$74,415	-	0	75.5
38	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Master's Degree	$76,630	$48,232	88	74.8
39	University of Georgia Athens, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$60,729	$19,500	153	73.9
40	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH	Master's Degree	$83,464	$27,036	13	73.9
41	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$65,535	$23,375	55	73.5
42	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$70,404	$27,000	123	73.5
43	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	Bachelor's Degree	$62,394	$22,000	217	73.2
44	Fordham University Bronx, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$72,475	$26,324	33	73.1
45	Baylor University Waco, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$63,622	$23,525	67	72.9
46	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	Bachelor's Degree	$60,887	$18,810	53	72.8
47	Boston University Boston, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$65,617	$24,500	110	72.8
48	Emerson College Boston, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$63,337	$23,610	108	72.6
49	American University Washington, DC	Bachelor's Degree	$66,635	$24,976	59	72.5
50	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	Master's Degree	$66,011	-	25	72.5

Filter Journalism by state & degree level →

Hidden Gems for Journalism

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Journalism - the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	Elon University Elon, NC Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$69,964	66%	85
2	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$67,878	63%	84.6
3	Chapman University Orange, CA Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$79,135	65%	82
4	Maine College of Art & Design Portland, ME Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$63,479	76%	79.6
5	California State University-Chico Chico, CA Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$63,358	93%	79.5
6	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$73,130	87%	78.8
7	Utah State University Logan, UT Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$61,724	92%	76.8
8	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$74,266	68%	76.1
9	St Bonaventure University Saint Bonaventure, NY Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$82,191	82%	75.8
10	CGSU CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$74,415	68%	75.5
11	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$83,464	86%	73.9
12	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$62,394	93%	73.2

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0-100 within the Journalism field (CIP 09.04) 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 Journalism 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 Journalism program?+

By our outcome score, University of Southern California (California) ranks #1 for Journalism, with median graduate earnings of $79,776.

How are these Journalism 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 Journalism 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

Journalism rankings (filterable)All major rankings Browse colleges Tuition-free colleges All Best-Of guides

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. GetInto.College does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.