Best Colleges by Major / Communication and Media Studies
Best Colleges for Communication and Media Studies 2026
20 schools ranked by graduate earnings — real data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Communication and Media Studies graduates are well-positioned for careers across multiple industries. The rankings below are based on actual graduate earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Earnings shown are median graduate earnings 4 years after graduation (or 1 year if 4-year data is unavailable), sourced from the College Scorecard.See full major data
Top 20 Communication and Media Studies Programs by Graduate Earnings
| # | School | Earnings | Tuition | Accept Rate | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY | $80,616 | $66,014 | 8% | 15,935 |
| 2 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA | $77,464 | $66,104 | 6% | 10,768 |
| 3 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL | $77,066 | $65,997 | 7% | 8,960 |
| 4 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA | $76,374 | $45,627 | 12% | 33,073 |
| 5 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA | $71,818 | $59,241 | 44% | 6,235 |
| 6 | Boston University Boston, MA | $69,156 | $65,168 | 11% | 17,850 |
| 7 | University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA | $68,510 | $58,014 | 17% | 17,315 |
| 8 | Northeastern University Boston, MA | $67,761 | $63,141 | 10% | 15,719 |
| 9 | Northeastern University Professional Programs Boston, MA | $67,761 | N/A | N/A | 1,674 |
| 10 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI | $66,507 | $58,072 | 18% | 33,488 |
| 11 | George Washington University Washington, DC | $65,477 | $64,990 | 44% | 10,848 |
| 12 | Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA | $65,184 | $67,680 | 16% | 9,865 |
| 13 | Roger Williams University Bristol, RI | $64,953 | $42,666 | 88% | 3,957 |
| 14 | American University Washington, DC | $64,488 | $56,543 | 47% | 7,593 |
| 15 | University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD | $63,691 | $40,306 | 45% | 30,246 |
| 16 | Fairfield University Fairfield, CT | $63,356 | $56,360 | 45% | 4,938 |
| 17 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA | $63,317 | $68,237 | 10% | 20,817 |
| 18 | University of Arizona Tucson, AZ | $63,294 | $41,095 | 86% | 40,769 |
| 19 | St. Thomas Aquinas College Sparkill, NY | $62,832 | $37,720 | 82% | 1,009 |
| 20 | Seattle University Seattle, WA | $62,478 | $54,285 | 76% | 4,117 |
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Explore All Communication and Media Studies Programs
See earnings data for all 613 schools offering Communication and Media Studies, including debt figures and graduate counts.
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