Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Journalism

Ranked by graduate earnings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard — updated 2026.

Programs tracked: 178

Avg grad salary: $44,262

Total graduates: 13,605

Top Colleges for Journalism — Ranked by Graduate Earnings

Showing schools with reported earnings data. Earnings reflect median graduate salary 4 years after graduation (or 1 year where 4-year data is unavailable).

#	School	Median Salary (4yr)	Starting Salary (1yr)	Graduates	Median Debt	Admit Rate
1	George Washington University Washington, DC	$66,907	$52,015	36	$25,000	43.5%
2	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	$63,740	$50,426	117	$15,333	7.1%
3	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	$62,752	$40,757	168	$27,000	41.7%
4	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	$62,737	$34,022	38	$15,750	83.3%
5	Chapman University Orange, CA	$60,210	$41,645	31	$22,500	55.6%
6	USC Los Angeles, CA	$59,071	$44,651	37	$16,250	10.0%
7	University of Washington Seattle, WA	$58,676	$33,250	21	$13,654	42.5%
8	Boston University Boston, MA	$58,645	$42,857	101	$24,813	10.8%
9	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	$58,169	$43,958	460	$21,400	77.0%
10	University of Maryland College Park, MD	$57,180	$46,893	114	$23,250	44.8%
11	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	$56,877	$31,788	75	$16,875	96.2%
12	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	$56,761	$24,026	55	$23,250	53.9%
13	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	$56,761	$24,026	55	$23,250	86.5%
14	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	$56,761	$24,026	55	$23,250	86.5%
15	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT	$56,761	$24,026	55	$23,250	80.2%
16	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	$56,761	$24,026	55	$23,250	87.0%
17	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	$56,265	$40,942	113	$23,250	43.4%
18	Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT	$55,623	$40,184	37	$24,500	77.0%
19	Northeastern University Boston, MA	$55,306	$51,855	33	$24,313	9.9%
20	University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN	$55,193	$42,450	340	$20,500	77.0%
21	Indiana University Bloomington, IN	$54,955	$39,992	137	$19,500	80.4%
22	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY	$54,788	$37,241	63	$25,000	70.6%
23	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	$54,736	$43,191	198	$22,811	88.2%
24	Cal Poly SLO San Luis Obispo, CA	$54,626	$48,637	69	$19,333	29.8%
25	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	$53,451	$41,378	27	$16,000	18.5%
26	Ohio State University Columbus, OH	$53,317	$31,955	58	$23,346	50.8%
27	Emerson College Boston, MA	$53,162	$39,703	101	$24,580	47.5%
28	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY	$52,328	$22,839	40	$13,717	50.5%
29	Elon University Elon, NC	$52,310	$34,105	36	$19,875	67.3%
30	Baylor University Waco, TX	$51,918	$35,675	72	$23,959	51.0%
31	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	$51,501	$40,502	21	$19,448	61.2%
32	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR	$51,403	$38,354	120	$21,500	71.7%
33	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus Chillicothe, OH	$51,321	$38,246	254	$24,208	N/A
34	Ohio University-Eastern Campus Saint Clairsville, OH	$51,321	$38,246	254	$24,208	N/A
35	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus Lancaster, OH	$51,321	$38,246	254	$24,208	N/A
36	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH	$51,321	$38,246	254	$24,208	84.8%
37	Ohio University-Southern Campus Ironton, OH	$51,321	$38,246	254	$24,208	N/A
38	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus Zanesville, OH	$51,321	$38,246	254	$24,208	N/A
39	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI	$51,254	$38,700	32	$26,000	87.4%
40	UT Austin Austin, TX	$51,204	$39,336	148	$21,500	29.1%
41	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	$51,112	$42,605	233	$19,937	90.2%
42	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA	$50,965	$34,119	88	$18,075	91.3%
43	American University Washington, DC	$50,957	$44,387	70	$25,000	47.4%
44	University of Georgia Athens, GA	$50,896	$36,636	155	$21,120	37.2%
45	State University of New York at New Paltz New Paltz, NY	$50,893	$29,628	24	$20,500	58.7%
46	Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ	$50,441	$32,523	250	$26,000	65.3%
47	Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ	$50,441	$32,523	250	$26,000	78.7%
48	Georgia College & State University Milledgeville, GA	$50,175	$38,603	132	$25,000	87.8%
49	Rowan University Glassboro, NJ	$50,157	$34,038	30	$24,238	77.8%
50	CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY	$49,986	$23,120	41	$10,290	53.7%
51	Wayne State University Detroit, MI	$49,878	$26,591	44	$29,000	82.0%
52	Michigan State East Lansing, MI	$49,786	$36,912	147	$24,985	83.9%
53	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	$49,760	$38,164	113	$17,054	24.0%
54	Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL	$49,526	$38,302	33	$23,000	81.4%
55	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV	$49,434	$34,075	221	$24,250	86.3%
56	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	$49,160	$28,844	134	$15,000	47.1%
57	St. John's University-New York Queens, NY	$49,154	$36,020	41	$26,000	79.7%
58	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	$49,146	$35,509	77	$25,000	75.8%
59	University at Albany Albany, NY	$49,005	$28,553	49	$25,000	69.9%
60	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	$49,005	$34,743	178	$25,907	84.7%

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median among graduates who received federal financial aid.

Choosing the Best Journalism Program

Graduate Earnings

Median salary 4 years post-graduation measures the long-term ROI of a program. Higher earnings with lower debt means better financial outcomes.

Program Size

Graduate count signals program maturity. Larger programs often have stronger alumni networks and more job placement resources.

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio

Compare median debt against starting salary. A ratio below 1x means most graduates can repay loans within a year of earnings.

Compare schools side by side

Use the CollegeBound compare tool to see full profiles — admissions, costs, and outcomes — for any two schools at once.

Open Compare Tool

Explore Other Majors

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingView →Business Administration, Management and OperationsView →Psychology, GeneralView →Criminal Justice and CorrectionsView →Business/Commerce, GeneralView →Biology, GeneralView →

← Back to Rankings