Rankings by major · 312 schools scored

Best colleges for communications & media

Every school we cover is scored 0–100 for communications & media. The score blends how graduates in the major do four years out against the national norm for the same major, the strength of the student body, how many undergraduate courses the department lists, and the size of the program. Small programs (under five graduates a year) are capped. 80 and up is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid.

The top communications & media schools: Northwestern University, University of Southern California, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.

Top 100 colleges for communications & media
Rank	School	Score (0–100)	Tier	Graduates per year in the major	Share of the class	Pay vs. national, same major	Acceptance rate
1	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	95	Standout	329	15.9%	1.18×	7%
2	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	94	Standout	446	8.2%	1.37×	10%
3	University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	92	Standout	522	10.7%	1.25×	17%
4	The University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX	91	Standout	1,068	10.3%	1.19×	27%
4	Boston University Boston, MA	91	Standout	643	13.6%	1.18×	13%
4	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	91	Standout	595	17.5%	1.34×	46%
4	Wake Forest University Winston Salem, NC	91	Standout	124	9.6%	1.38×	22%
8	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA	90	Standout	177	8.5%	1.27×	14%
9	American University Washington, DC	89	Standout	194	10.9%	1.24×	62%
9	Villanova University Villanova, PA	89	Standout	168	9.5%	1.45×	28%
11	University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI	88	Standout	525	7%	1.20×	45%
11	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	88	Standout	252	8.7%	1.28×	19%
11	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	88	Standout	185	9.7%	1.41×	48%
11	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	88	Standout	153	6.5%	1.48×	16%
11	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	88	Standout	62	2.2%	2.03×	5%
16	Chapman University Orange, CA	87	Standout	227	11.5%	1.31×	72%
16	Northeastern University Boston, MA	87	Standout	177	4%	1.40×	5%
16	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	87	Standout	140	10.1%	1.49×	48%
16	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	87	Standout	64	1.7%	1.57×	9%
20	University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	86	Standout	209	2.6%	1.41×	16%
21	New York University New York, NY	85	Standout	445	6.5%	1.53×	9%
22	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	84	Standout	534	6.3%	1.23×	42%
22	University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA	84	Standout	265	3%	1.34×	11%
22	University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	84	Standout	152	3.4%	1.35×	17%
25	The Pennsylvania State University–University Park University Park, PA	83	Standout	748	7.3%	1.17×	61%
25	University of Georgia Athens, GA	83	Standout	669	8.1%	1.11×	38%
25	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	83	Standout	348	6.5%	1.22×	54%
25	Fordham University New York, NY	83	Standout	246	10.7%	1.49×	59%
25	Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA	83	Standout	65	1.6%	1.98×	13%
25	Denison University Granville, OH	83	Standout	53	9.8%	1.18×	17%
25	Brown University Providence, RI	83	Standout	34	2%	–	5%
32	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	82	Standout	908	10.2%	1.08×	85%
32	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	82	Standout	696	7.2%	1.11×	20%
32	Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX	82	Standout	345	15%	1.13×	48%
32	University of Washington Seattle, WA	82	Standout	316	3.7%	1.14×	39%
32	University of Delaware Newark, DE	82	Standout	193	4.4%	1.25×	71%
32	George Washington University Washington, DC	82	Standout	115	3.9%	1.41×	47%
38	Rutgers University–New Brunswick Piscataway, NJ	81	Standout	400	4.7%	1.20×	58%
38	University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	81	Standout	323	4.2%	1.23×	80%
38	University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	81	Standout	232	2.5%	–	9%
38	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	81	Standout	173	10.3%	1.29×	45%
38	Pepperdine University Malibu, CA	81	Standout	118	12.8%	1.25×	63%
38	Pomona College Claremont, CA	81	Standout	20	5.5%	–	7%
44	Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY	80	Standout	34	7.3%	1.31×	64%
45	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	79	Strong	739	10.9%	1.16×	78%
45	Fairfield University Fairfield, CT	79	Strong	86	8.1%	1.39×	33%
45	Scripps College Claremont, CA	79	Strong	18	7.9%	–	38%
48	University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	78	Strong	620	9.8%	1.29×	38%
48	Howard University Washington, DC	78	Strong	217	16.8%	1.08×	41%
48	University of San Diego San Diego, CA	78	Strong	92	6.4%	1.22×	54%
51	University of Missouri Columbia, MO	77	Strong	623	12.2%	1.19×	78%
51	University of Maryland, College Park College Park, MD	77	Strong	356	4.2%	1.29×	45%
51	University at Buffalo–SUNY Buffalo, NY	77	Strong	330	6.4%	1.12×	81%
51	University of Denver Denver, CO	77	Strong	111	8.3%	1.12×	85%
51	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	77	Strong	20	4.5%	–	14%
51	University of Richmond Richmond, VA	77	Strong	18	2.3%	–	22%
51	Davidson College Davidson, NC	77	Strong	16	3.4%	–	13%
58	Texas A&M University College Station, TX	76	Strong	445	3.3%	1.16×	52%
58	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	76	Strong	293	7%	1.10×	93%
58	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	76	Strong	256	5.1%	1.05×	80%
58	Baylor University Waco, TX	76	Strong	235	7.2%	1.06×	52%
58	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI	76	Strong	149	7.6%	1.05×	87%
58	Furman University Greenville, SC	76	Strong	47	7.7%	1.14×	43%
58	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	76	Strong	22	1.3%	–	6%
58	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	76	Strong	21	1.7%	1.46×	29%
66	The Ohio State University Columbus, OH	75	Strong	537	4.7%	1.08×	51%
66	Indiana University–Bloomington Bloomington, IN	75	Strong	522	7.2%	1.11×	78%
66	University of California, Davis Davis, CA	75	Strong	288	3.3%	1.29×	44%
66	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	75	Strong	256	4.7%	1.12×	87%
66	University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA	75	Strong	244	2.8%	1.19×	29%
66	University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA	75	Strong	40	0.8%	1.23×	59%
66	Trinity University San Antonio, TX	75	Strong	31	5.3%	1.06×	26%
73	University of Oregon Eugene, OR	74	Strong	575	14.3%	1.12×	88%
73	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	74	Strong	31	1.6%	–	42%
73	Pitzer College Claremont, CA	74	Strong	20	8%	–	27%
73	Gallaudet University Washington, DC	74	Strong	16	7.2%	–	58%
77	University of Massachusetts–Amherst Amherst, MA	73	Strong	402	6.4%	1.04×	60%
77	Purdue University–Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	73	Strong	122	1.4%	1.16×	50%
77	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	73	Strong	95	6%	1.23×	62%
77	DePauw University Greencastle, IN	73	Strong	44	10%	1.23×	56%
81	Elon University Elon, NC	72	Strong	400	26.4%	1.23×	66%
81	University of Mississippi Oxford, MS	72	Strong	330	8.2%	1.33×	97%
81	Creighton University Omaha, NE	72	Strong	31	2.6%	1.20×	92%
84	Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	71	Strong	225	3.1%	1.17×	55%
84	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY	71	Strong	174	12.6%	1.10×	68%
84	University of Dayton Dayton, OH	71	Strong	123	6.3%	1.19×	65%
84	Clark University Worcester, MA	71	Strong	53	9.5%	–	40%
84	St. Lawrence University Canton, NY	71	Strong	47	8.9%	1.29×	54%
89	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	70	Strong	640	9.5%	1.07×	71%
89	Washington State University Pullman, WA	70	Strong	472	7.6%	1.08×	86%
89	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	70	Strong	412	6.5%	1.21×	68%
89	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	70	Strong	321	4.3%	1.23×	86%
89	North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC	70	Strong	197	3%	1.10×	42%
89	Westmont College Santa Barbara, CA	70	Strong	24	9.5%	1.11×	77%
89	The Catholic University of America Washington, DC	70	Strong	23	3%	1.30×	83%
96	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY	69	Strong	388	7.7%	0.98×	93%
96	University of Tennessee–Knoxville Knoxville, TN	69	Strong	350	6.6%	0.99×	42%
96	Drake University Des Moines, IA	69	Strong	110	15.8%	1.04×	64%
96	Stony Brook University–SUNY Stony Brook, NY	69	Strong	55	1.2%	1.16×	49%
96	Ursinus College Collegeville, PA	69	Strong	33	11.2%	1.08×	92%

212 more schools are on the full communications & media ranking.

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