25 Best Bachelor’s in Media Communications Degree Programs

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degrees offer diverse career oppor­tu­ni­ties in writ­ing, edit­ing, pro­duc­ing, and var­i­ous tech­ni­cal and man­age­r­i­al roles.
• Lead­ing media com­mu­ni­ca­tions pro­grams include the Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na at Chapel Hill, Uni­ver­si­ty of Wash­ing­ton, and Uni­ver­si­ty of Geor­gia, among others.
• Pro­grams are eval­u­at­ed based on alum­ni out­comes, grad­u­a­tion rates, job place­ment suc­cess, stu­dent sat­is­fac­tion, and afford­abil­i­ty.

In the age of YouTube and Insta­gram, any­body can be a media per­son­al­i­ty, but it takes real edu­ca­tion and expe­ri­ence to be a media com­mu­ni­ca­tions pro­fes­sion­al. The field of media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions is expand­ing expo­nen­tial­ly with mod­ern com­mu­ni­ca­tions tech­nol­o­gy, far beyond the sim­pler old days of radio, tele­vi­sion, and pub­lish­ing. For­tu­nate­ly for stu­dents who want a career in the media, that means no end of career poten­tial in any part of the field — writ­ing, edit­ing, pro­duc­ing, behind the scenes and on-cam­era, tech­ni­cal and artis­tic and man­age­r­i­al. No mat­ter your skills or inter­ests, there is a place in media communications.

Break­ing in is the hard part, and that’s one of the main ben­e­fits of a bachelor’s in com­mu­ni­ca­tion and media. A media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree pro­gram teach­es you more than tech­ni­cal skills and the­o­ry; it teach­es you how to be a pro­fes­sion­al, helps you gain real-world expe­ri­ence, and pro­vides net­work­ing con­nec­tions that can make your time on the job mar­ket pain­less. To help guide prospec­tive media com­mu­ni­ca­tions pro­fes­sion­als to the best pro­grams for their goals, Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter has ranked pro­grams that will have a real impact on stu­den­t’s careers.

Methodology: Ranking the Best Media and Communications Degree Programs

To rank the best bachelor’s degrees in media com­mu­ni­ca­tions, Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter edi­tors searched out accred­it­ed media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions pro­grams all over the US, start­ing with pro­grams accred­it­ed by the Accred­it­ing Coun­cil on Edu­ca­tion in Jour­nal­ism and Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions. From that ini­tial list, pro­grams were ranked accord­ing to five cri­te­ria: Alum­ni Salary, Grad­u­a­tion Rate, Job Place­ment, Stu­dent Reviews, and Tuition Rate. Data is drawn from Col­lege Score­card, IPEDS, and Niche.

With these five fac­tors, stu­dents can be con­fi­dent that the pro­grams ranked by BDC com­bine qual­i­ty, stu­dent sat­is­fac­tion, and real return on investment.

1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The School of Media & Jour­nal­ism offers a degree pro­gram with mul­ti­ple path­ways in the Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na at Chapel Hill’s BA in Media and Jour­nal­ism. The Adver­tis­ing and Pub­lic Rela­tions cap­stone cours­es include Lead­er­ship in a Time of Change, Dig­i­tal Media Eco­nom­ics, Adver­tis­ing or Pub­lic Rela­tions Cam­paign­ing, among oth­ers. The Jour­nal­ism cap­stone path includes course­work like Mag­a­zine Writ­ing, Busi­ness Jour­nal­ism, Mag­a­zine Design and Pho­to­jour­nal­ism, among oth­ers. UNC-Chapel Hill’s bach­e­lor’s in com­mu­ni­ca­tion pro­gram offers diver­si­ty pro­grams ded­i­cat­ed to inclu­sion with­in their media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree, as well as an hon­ors program.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na at Chapel Hill was estab­lished in 1789. It is a mem­ber school and the flag­ship cam­pus of the Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na sys­tem. The school is one of three insti­tu­tions of high­er learn­ing in the coun­try that claims to be the old­est uni­ver­si­ty in the nation. The school’s defin­i­tive “col­lege town” cam­pus is home to near­ly 30,000 students.

What We Like: UNC media and jour­nal­ism stu­dents have access to admired research cen­ters like the Charles Kuralt Learn­ing Cen­ter, the Reese News Lab, and the NC Media and Jour­nal­ism Hall of Fame.

Degree: BA in Media and Journalism

Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na at Chapel Hill

2. University of Washington

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Washington’s BA in Media & Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Stud­ies degree pro­gram, from the School of Inter­dis­ci­pli­nary Arts & Sci­ences, explores in-depth com­mu­ni­ca­tion the­o­ries and fun­da­men­tals across media gen­res. Through U‑Dub’s cur­ricu­lum in the media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree pro­gram hones col­lab­o­ra­tive, cre­ative and crit­i­cal think­ing com­mu­ni­ca­tions skills. The Uni­ver­si­ty of Washington’s com­mu­ni­ca­tions bach­e­lor degree pro­gram requires the com­ple­tion of 68 cred­it units in media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions stud­ies. Stu­dents grad­u­ate with fine­ly-tuned eth­i­cal com­mu­ni­ca­tion tal­ents that have many appli­ca­tions across many industries.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Wash­ing­ton was estab­lished in 1861 about ten years after Seat­tle was found­ed. The school oper­ates with three cam­pus­es. The Seat­tle cam­pus, locat­ed near the shores of the Portage Bay and Union Bay, is the main cam­pus with two satel­lite cam­pus­es in Both­ell and Taco­ma. U‑Dub reg­u­lar­ly ranks among the top uni­ver­si­ties world­wide, accord­ing to the Aca­d­e­m­ic Rank­ing of World Universities.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Wash­ing­ton played a major part in build­ing the Pacif­ic North­west into a tech indus­try pow­er­house, giv­ing media com­mu­ni­ca­tions grad­u­ates a robust job market.

Degree: BA in Media and Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Studies

Uni­ver­si­ty of Washington

3. University of Georgia

The AB in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Stud­ies at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Georgia’s Franklin Col­lege of Arts & Sci­ences pre­pares to apply their the­o­ret­i­cal com­mu­ni­ca­tion knowl­edge to busi­ness, cor­po­rate edu­ca­tion, pub­lic rela­tions, and pro­fes­sion­al train­ing, among oth­ers. UGA’s bach­e­lor’s in com­mu­ni­ca­tion degree pro­gram requires the com­ple­tion of 120 cred­it hours, and stu­dents are required to com­plete a course in Rhetor­i­cal Crit­i­cism and Empir­i­cal Research Methods.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Geor­gia was estab­lished in 1785 as a land grant insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing through the Mor­rill Act. The school holds the dis­tinc­tion of being des­ig­nat­ed a sun grant, sea-grant, space-grant, and land grant school — one of only a few uni­ver­si­ties in the nation. UGA is among the old­est uni­ver­si­ties in the Unit­ed States. A por­tion of the main cam­pus is includ­ed in the Nation­al Reg­is­ter of His­toric Places.

What We Like: UGA’s Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Stud­ies Depart­ment has some of the most respect­ed fac­ul­ty mem­bers in the field, includ­ing the Nation­al Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Asso­ci­a­tion award winners.

Degree: AB in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Studies

Uni­ver­si­ty of Georgia

4. University of Iowa

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Iowa’s BA in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Stud­ies degree pro­gram pre­pares grad­u­ates for the increas­ing­ly com­plex world of 21st-cen­tu­ry com­mu­ni­ca­tion meth­ods. UI’s com­mu­ni­ca­tions bach­e­lor degree pro­gram offers stu­dents an option to earn need­ed cred­it units through an intern­ship. The school allows for the trans­fer of cred­it and offers an online method to deter­mine which cours­es will be accept­ed by the Uni­ver­si­ty of Iowa before apply­ing. UI’s Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Stud­ies depart­ment offers annu­al schol­ar­ships and awards.

Fifty-nine days after Iowa joined the US in 1847, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Iowa was estab­lished along­side the Iowa Riv­er. The school holds the dis­tinc­tion as the old­est insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing in the state of Iowa. UI’s urban-type cam­pus cov­ers 1,800+-acres and is home to 33,000 stu­dents. The school is orga­nized among 11 col­leges offer­ing 200+ degree programs.

What We Like: UU offers media com­mu­ni­ca­tions stu­dents a wide vari­ety of schol­ar­ships and awards — even trav­el awards for pre­sent­ing at conferences.

Degree: BA in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Studies

Uni­ver­si­ty of Iowa

5. Pennsylvania State University

Penn­syl­va­nia State University’s BA in Media Stud­ies is intend­ed for stu­dents inter­est­ed in fol­low­ing a more aca­d­e­m­ic approach to media stud­ies. The Bel­lis­ario Col­lege of Com­mu­ni­ca­tions’ media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree pro­gram explores the var­i­ous meth­ods to under­stand how com­mu­ni­ca­tion occurs — social­ly, cul­tur­al­ly, and behav­ioral­ly, among oth­ers. Penn State’s bach­e­lor’s in com­mu­ni­ca­tion degree pro­gram offers four emphases — Media Effects, Soci­ety & Cul­ture, Film and TV, and Inter­na­tion­al Com­mu­ni­ca­tions. The Accred­it­ing Coun­cil on Edu­ca­tion in Jour­nal­ism and Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions (ACEJMC) accred­its Bel­lis­ario Col­lege of Communication’s BA in Media Stud­ies program.

Penn­syl­va­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1855. Penn State is a 4‑grant uni­ver­si­ty hold­ing a sun grant, sea-grant, space-grant, and land grant uni­ver­si­ty. The Nation­al Reg­is­ter of His­toric Places rec­og­nizes two build­ings on Penn State’s 7,000+-acre cam­pus. Penn­syl­va­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty at Uni­ver­si­ty Park is the largest of the 24 mem­ber schools with­in the Penn­syl­va­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty system.

What We Like: Penn State’s resources mean stu­dents in the media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree pro­gram have access to some of the most state-of-the-art labs in the world.

Degree: BA in Media Studies

Penn­syl­va­nia State University

6. Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University’s BA in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Stud­ies comes from the ACEJMC accred­it­ed School of Com­mu­ni­ca­tion. BYU’s com­mu­ni­ca­tions bach­e­lor degree pro­gram takes a more gen­er­al­ized approach that the oth­er media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree pro­grams offered by Brigham Young Uni­ver­si­ty. Degree can­di­dates study com­mu­ni­ca­tion the­o­ries, research, crit­i­cal think­ing and pre­sen­ta­tion across the diverse fields of pop cul­ture, inter­na­tion­al issues, and dig­i­tal media. The School of Com­mu­ni­ca­tion’s stu­dents are required to have a lap­top com­put­er for in-class use that meets spe­cif­ic hard­ware and soft­ware require­ments set forth by BYU.

Brigham Young Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate uni­ver­si­ty estab­lished in 1875. The school is affil­i­at­ed with the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat­ter-day Saints. Near­ly all BYU are mem­bers of the Lat­ter-day Saints church. The school is orga­nized with eleven schools/colleges offer­ing hun­dreds of degree pro­gram options from which to select. US News ranks Brigham Young six­ty-first among nation­al insti­tu­tions of high­er learning.

What We Like: BYU’s Diver­si­ty in Media Lec­ture Series col­lab­o­rates with His­tor­i­cal­ly Black Col­leges to hold con­ver­sa­tions about rep­re­sen­ta­tion in media.

Degree: BA Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Studies

Brigham Young University

7. University of South Carolina

The Col­lege of Infor­ma­tion & Com­mu­ni­ca­tion offers the Uni­ver­si­ty of South Carolina’s BA in Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions pre­pares grad­u­ates for careers in busi­ness, media, adver­tis­ing or pub­lic rela­tions, among oth­ers. Carolina’s bach­e­lor’s in com­mu­ni­ca­tion pro­gram requires a final cap­stone project to grad­u­ate and offers stu­dents a wide vari­ety of intern­ships from which to select. Degree can­di­dates have a wide vari­ety of cours­es to choose from the fields of news­pa­pers, media print, and tele­vi­sion pro­duc­tion. Carolina’s media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree pro­gram requires stu­dents to com­plete 120 cred­it units.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na was estab­lished in 1801. Car­oli­na is a mem­ber school of the Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na Sys­tem and its flag­ship cam­pus. About 34,000 stu­dents study on the school’s urban cam­pus, just steps away from the SC State House. The Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na holds the dis­tinc­tion of being the largest insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing in the Carolinas.

What We Like: Stu­dents in the USC School of Jour­nal­ism and Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions are exposed to cur­rent, game-chang­ing research in adver­tis­ing, pub­lic rela­tions, tech­nol­o­gy, and health communication.

Degree: BA in Mass Communications

Uni­ver­si­ty of South Carolina

8. Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University’s BA in Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions comes from the respect­ed Man­ship School of Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion. Stu­dents study­ing LSU’s bach­e­lor’s in com­mu­ni­ca­tion degree can opt for five areas of spe­cial­ty — Jour­nal­ism, Pre-Law Pro­gram (a 3 + 3‑year dual pro­gram), Pub­lic Rela­tions, Polit­i­cal Com­mu­ni­ca­tion, and Dig­i­tal Adver­tis­ing. The numer­ous mass com­mu­ni­ca­tion edu­ca­tion path­ways offer excit­ing intern­ship oppor­tu­ni­ties. Stu­dents who have fol­lowed the Polit­i­cal Com­mu­ni­ca­tion major have interned with gov­er­nors, state sen­a­tors, and state representatives.

Louisiana State Uni­ver­si­ty, estab­lished in 1860, is a mem­ber school and the flag­ship cam­pus of the Louisiana State Uni­ver­si­ty Sys­tem and on behalf of the state itself. The school’s near­ly 5,000-acre urban cam­pus is home to more than 30,000 stu­dents, with down­town Baton Rouge just to the north. Louisiana State Uni­ver­si­ty is a sea-grant; land grant and space grant insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing. The Man­ship School of Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion was estab­lished in 1912 and is one of the old­est schools of its kind in the US.

What We Like: LSU’s Man­ship School offers stu­dents the unique Social Media Analy­sis & Cre­ation (SMAC) Lab for research in the most pow­er­ful new media of the century.

Degree: BA in Mass Communications

Louisiana State University

9. Kansas State University

Kansas State University’s Miller School of Jour­nal­ism and Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion offers two oppor­tu­ni­ties for a Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions bach­e­lor degree: either a Bach­e­lor of Arts pro­gram or a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence pro­gram. KSU’s BS in Com­mu­ni­ca­tions pro­gram requires the com­ple­tion of 39 cred­it units with­in the mass com­mu­ni­ca­tion major. Kansas State Uni­ver­si­ty allows stu­dents to trans­fer up to twelve cred­it units with the mass com­mu­ni­ca­tions bach­e­lor degree pro­gram. The course­work offered through KSU’s BS in Com­mu­ni­ca­tions pro­gram cov­ers a range of writ­ing and pro­duc­tion classes.

Kansas State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1863 as the result of the Mor­rill Land Act. IN addi­tion to being the state of Kansas’ first uni­ver­si­ty, KSU is a space-grant and land grant school. KSU is the flag­ship school for the Kansas State Uni­ver­si­ty sys­tem. The school’s near­ly 670-acre cam­pus is home to more than 22,000 stu­dents, and struc­tures list­ed on the Nation­al Reg­is­ter of His­toric Places.

What We Like: Kansas State’s Miller School has rad­i­cal­ly ren­o­vat­ed its cur­ricu­lum with an empha­sis on cross-media com­mu­ni­ca­tion, includ­ing the JMC Gate­way empha­siz­ing expe­ri­en­tial learn­ing for pro­duc­tion skills.

Degree: BA or BS Mass Communications

Kansas State University

10. Colorado State University

Col­orado State University’s BA in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Stud­ies takes a tri-fold approach that includes Organizational/Relationship, Civic Engage­ment, and the Visual/Media Cul­ture. Addi­tion­al course­work includes core require­ments of the human­i­ties, social sci­ences and his­to­ry. Stu­dents grad­u­ate pre­pared for careers in pol­i­tics, gov­ern­ment, busi­ness, edu­ca­tion, pub­lic rela­tions, and dig­i­tal com­mu­ni­ca­tions, among others.

Col­orado State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1870 as a land grant school under the Mor­rill Land Act — even before Col­orado became a state. CSU is the flag­ship school with­in the Col­orado State Uni­ver­si­ty sys­tem. The school’s urban cam­pus in Fort Collins is home to near­ly 33,000 stu­dents study­ing for their degrees from 8 col­leges. The school is con­sis­tent­ly rec­og­nized as a top-rat­ed school among pub­lic uni­ver­si­ties. Fort Collins, CO aver­ages more than 300 sun­ny days each year and is only an hour from down­town Den­ver — one of the fastest-grow­ing cities in the country.

What We Like: True to Col­orado style, CSU’s media com­mu­ni­ca­tions pro­gram empha­sizes com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment with ini­tia­tives like the Cen­ter for Pub­lic Rela­tions and the ACT Human Rights Film Festival.

Degree: BA in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Studies

Col­orado State University’

11. University of Alabama

The Col­lege of Com­mu­ni­ca­tion & Infor­ma­tion Sci­ences at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Alaba­ma offers two media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree pro­gram options — a Bach­e­lor of Arts in Cre­ative Media and a Bach­e­lor of Arts in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Stud­ies. The Jour­nal­ism & Cre­ative Media path involves stu­dents in the art of sto­ry­telling across many mass media out­lets. A Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Stud­ies’ stu­dent fine-tunes their writ­ten and oral skills; which can be eas­i­ly applied to the student’s per­son­al and pro­fes­sion­al objectives.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Alaba­ma was estab­lished in 1820 and cur­rent­ly holds the dis­tinc­tion of being the flag­ship school for the Uni­ver­si­ty of Alaba­ma sys­tem. Addi­tion­al­ly, UA is a space-grant and sea-grant insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing. The school’s archi­tec­ture resem­bles the ante­bel­lum peri­od-style so rec­og­niz­able in the south. UA’s near­ly 2,000-acre cam­pus is home to near­ly 39,000 study­ing from thir­teen aca­d­e­m­ic schools.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Alabama’s diver­si­ty ini­tia­tives have been rec­og­nized by the Inter­na­tion­al Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Train­ing and Research Cen­ter as a mod­el for com­mu­ni­ca­tions education.

Degree: BA in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Stud­ies or BA in Cre­ative Media

Uni­ver­si­ty of Alabama

12. Elon University

The School of Com­mu­ni­ca­tions at Elon Uni­ver­si­ty offers either a BA in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Design or a BA in Media Ana­lyt­ics. Elon University’s bach­e­lor’s in com­mu­ni­ca­tion pro­grams have been cre­at­ed using inno­v­a­tive cur­ricu­lums that delve into a student’s abil­i­ty to make strate­gic deci­sions and write pro­fes­sion­al­ly in a num­ber of indus­tries. Elon’s media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree pro­grams required the com­ple­tion of 132 cred­it units to grad­u­ate. Pri­or to grad­u­a­tion, com­mu­ni­ca­tion stu­dents com­plete a pro­fes­sion­al intern­ship; which earns cred­it towards the com­ple­tion of the degree.

Elon Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate uni­ver­si­ty that was estab­lished in 1889. Although once affil­i­at­ed reli­gious­ly, Elon Uni­ver­si­ty oper­ates as a non­sec­tar­i­an insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing. Elon University’s School of Law’s cam­pus is oper­at­ed as a satel­lite cam­pus in Greens­boro, NC. The school’s 600+-acre cam­pus is home to near­ly 6,800 stu­dents study­ing from six schools/colleges. US News rec­og­nizes Elon Uni­ver­si­ty first among region­al uni­ver­si­ties locat­ed in the south.

What We Like: Elon is total­ly com­mit­ted to stu­dent career suc­cess, includ­ing ded­i­cat­ed career ser­vices and intern­ship staff just for the School of Communications.

Degree: BA in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Design, BA in Media Analytics

Elon Uni­ver­si­ty

13. University of San Francisco

The Uni­ver­si­ty of San Francisco’s BA in Media Stud­ies is a bach­e­lor’s in com­mu­ni­ca­tion pro­gram that pro­vides stu­dents with an all-encom­pass­ing lib­er­al arts core pro­gram that delves into the rela­tion­ship between soci­ety, media, and cul­ture. Upper-lev­el course­work in the Media Stud­ies pro­gram includes Gen­der and the Media, Pol­i­tics and the Media, Media, Mem­o­ry, and His­to­ry, and Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Pop­u­lar Music, among oth­ers. Stu­dents are required to com­plete a rel­e­vant the­sis to graduate.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of San Fran­cis­co was estab­lished in 1855. The school was found­ed by the Jesuits and first known as St. Ignatius Acad­e­my. USF oper­ates from its Hill­top main cam­pus, along with sev­en oth­er cam­pus­es. USF was among the top 100 nation­al uni­ver­si­ties, accord­ing to US News. Sev­en­ty-two per­cent of under­grad­u­ate stu­dents receive some form of finan­cial aid.

What We Like: The best thing going for USF media stud­ies grad­u­ates is San Fran­cis­co itself, with lim­it­less oppor­tu­ni­ties for intern­ships, jobs, and net­work­ing in media, tech, and government.

Degree: BA in Media Studies

Uni­ver­si­ty of San Francisco

14. University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Stu­dents can earn a BA or a BS in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion from the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ten­nessee, Knoxville School of Jour­nal­ism & Elec­tron­ic Media (JEM) — the exact degree depends upon the student’s goals. UTK’s bachelor’s in com­mu­ni­ca­tions offer a spe­cial­ty area of Media Man­age­ment, which explores the con­cepts of media pro­gram­ming, pro­mo­tions, and man­age­ment. Many stu­dents vying for media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degrees also sup­ple­ment their degrees with busi­ness and man­age­ment cours­es. Stu­dents grad­u­ate pre­pared for careers in pub­lish­ing jour­nal­ism and pub­lic rela­tions, among others.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Ten­nessee, Knoxville was estab­lished in 1794 and the flag­ship school of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ten­nessee sys­tem. UTK was found­ed 2 years before Ten­nessee received its state­hood. The Uni­ver­si­ty of Tennessee’s 600-acre cam­pus is home to near­ly 29,000 stu­dents. US News rec­og­nizes UTK among the top 55 pub­lic uni­ver­si­ties in the coun­try. The school holds the dis­tinc­tion of the only insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing to pos­sess 3 pres­i­den­tial edit­ing projects.

What We Like: Stu­dents in UTK’s com­mu­ni­ca­tions pro­gram have access to five state-of-the-art labs, includ­ing the Adam Brown Social Media Com­mand Cen­ter, the CICS User Expe­ri­ence Lab, and the Scripps Con­ver­gence Lab.

Degree: BA or BS in Communication

Uni­ver­si­ty of Ten­nessee Knoxville

15. Texas State University

Texas State University’s Media Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Bach­e­lor degree includes sev­er­al options. These are Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS) degrees in Dig­i­tal Media Inno­va­tion, Elec­tron­ic Media, Jour­nal­ism, Adver­tis­ing, Pub­lic Rela­tions and a BA in Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion. Each media com­mu­ni­ca­tion bac­calau­re­ate degree requires the com­ple­tion of 120 cred­it hours. Degree can­di­dates are encour­aged to take intern­ships (coor­di­nat­ed through the school) but are not required to do so to earn their bachelor’s in mass com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree from the School of Jour­nal­ism and Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion. Stu­dents also have the option of pur­su­ing a con­cen­tra­tion in: Dig­i­tal Media, Mul­ti­me­dia Pro­duc­tion and/or Sports Media.

Texas State Uni­ver­si­ty was found­ed in 1899 as a nor­mal school. From its hum­ble begin­nings, Texas State now holds the dis­tinc­tion of being the largest school with­in the Texas State Uni­ver­si­ty sys­tem. In fact, Texas State has grown to be the fifth-largest insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing in the state of Texas. Lyn­don B. John­son, the 36th pres­i­dent grad­u­at­ed from Texas State University.

What We Like: Texas State’s School of Jour­nal­ism and Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion offers more than a dozen endowed schol­ar­ships, with awards of more than $3000.

Degree: BS in Dig­i­tal Media Inno­va­tion, BS in Elec­tron­ic Media, BA in Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions, BS in Jour­nal­ism, BS in Adver­tis­ing, BS in Pub­lic Relations

Texas State University

16. University of Idaho

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Idaho’s Broad­cast­ing & Dig­i­tal Media degree is avail­able as either a BA or a BS pro­gram. These bach­e­lor’s in com­mu­ni­ca­tion pro­grams pro­vide stu­dents with hands-on expe­ri­ence as they pre­pare for reward­ing careers in the many areas of dig­i­tal media. Degree can­di­dates facil­i­tate the man­age­ment of an FM sta­tion and a pub­lic tele­vi­sion sta­tion on-cam­pus. The BS in Com­mu­ni­ca­tions path requires the com­ple­tion of 124 cred­its, where­as the BA in Com­mu­ni­ca­tions requires the com­ple­tion of 128 cred­it units to graduate.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Ida­ho was estab­lished in 1889 as the result of the Mor­rill Land Act, and a year before Ida­ho became a state. UI was Idaho’s only insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing until the school’s Col­lege of Law received accred­i­ta­tion by the Amer­i­can Bar Asso­ci­a­tion. UI’s 1,500+-acre rur­al cam­pus is home to near­ly 12,000 stu­dents stud­ied from among more than 140-degree pro­gram options.

What We Like: For stu­dents inter­est­ed in broad­cast­ing, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ida­ho has its own high-def tele­vi­sion stu­dio, and is home to Ida­ho Pub­lic Television.

Degree: BA or BS in Broad­cast­ing & Dig­i­tal Media

Uni­ver­si­ty of Idaho

17. University of North Florida

The School of Com­mu­ni­ca­tions at the Uni­ver­si­ty of North Flori­da offers a BS in Com­mu­ni­ca­tions or a BA in Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Stud­ies degree pro­gram. The BS in Media and Com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree pre­pares degree can­di­dates for pro­duc­tion and jour­nal­ism jobs in mass media fields. The BA in Com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree pro­gram allows stu­dents to apply the con­cepts of mass media with­in busi­ness­es and orga­ni­za­tions through the appli­ca­tion of inter­per­son­al skills. Stu­dents vying for a BS degree must declare a major from the choic­es of Pub­lic Rela­tions, Mul­ti­me­dia Jour­nal­ism & Pro­duc­tion or Advertising.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Flori­da was estab­lished as a pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty in 1972. UNF is a mem­ber school of the State Uni­ver­si­ty Sys­tem of Flori­da. The school’s 1,200-acre cam­pus is locat­ed about halfway between down­town Jack­sonville and the city’s Atlantic Ocean beach­es. UNF oper­ates with five colleges/schools offer­ing degrees in nutri­tion, busi­ness, nurs­ing, music and the biol­o­gy of coastal regions.

What We Like: UNF’s con­nec­tions through the north­ern region of Flori­da allows the School of Com­mu­ni­ca­tions to place stu­dents in intern­ships in every­thing from TV and news­pa­pers to pub­lic rela­tions firms.

Degree: BS in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion or BA in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Studies

Uni­ver­si­ty of North Flori­da

18. Iona College

Iona College’s BA in Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion degree pro­gram is for stu­dents inter­est­ed in explor­ing how to use the mass media to clev­er­ly present engag­ing, truth­ful sto­ries. Iona’s degree can­di­dates have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to select from con­cen­tra­tions that include jour­nal­ism, broad­cast media, pub­lic rela­tions, and adver­tis­ing. Stu­dents are required to com­plete an intern­ship to grad­u­ate. Past stu­dents have interned at Dis­ney, NBC, and SI. In addi­tion to the school’s core cur­ricu­lum, stu­dents must com­plete 39 cred­it hours for each.

Iona Col­lege was estab­lished in 1940 in New Rochelle, NY; which is imme­di­ate­ly north of the New York City bor­ough of the Bronx and only a cou­ple of miles from the west­ern end of the Long Island Sound. The school is affil­i­at­ed with the Con­gre­ga­tion of Chris­t­ian Bro­kers. Iona College’s near­ly 50-acre sub­ur­ban cam­pus is home to more than 3,750 stu­dents. Iona oper­ates with­in two schools – the Busi­ness School and the School of Arts & Science.

What We Like: Iona College’s loca­tion in Westch­ester Coun­ty makes it pos­si­ble to place stu­dents in intern­ships with some of the most impor­tant media com­pa­nies in New York City.

Degree: BA Mass Communication

Iona Col­lege

19. Winthrop University

Winthrop University’s BA in Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree is for stu­dents who wish to enter the mass media fields of pro­duc­tion, jour­nal­ism, advert­ing, busi­ness jour­nal­ism or news­pa­pers, among oth­ers. Winthrop’s course­work requires the com­ple­tion of 120 semes­ter hours to grad­u­ate. Winthrop’s bach­e­lor’s in com­mu­ni­ca­tion pro­gram includes a for­eign lan­guage pro­fi­cien­cy require­ment equal to a min­i­mum a 2nd — semes­ter col­lege-lev­el stu­dent. Stu­dents grad­u­ate pre­pared to edit and/or pro­duce a print­ed or broad­cast presentation.

Winthrop Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1886 as a pub­lic insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing specif­i­cal­ly designed to edu­cate women as teach­ers. The school’s Rock Hill sub­ur­ban cam­pus is home to more than 6,000 stu­dents. This main cam­pus is about 20 min­utes from Char­lotte, NC, and Colum­bia, SC. The school is locat­ed in a his­toric dis­trict list­ed on the NRHP. The aver­age class size at Winthrop Uni­ver­si­ty is 21.

What We Like: Winthrop’s Depart­ment of Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions part­ners with the Depart­ment of Com­put­er Sci­ence for a spe­cial­ized con­cen­tra­tion in Dig­i­tal Mass Media.

Degree: BA in Mass Communication

Winthrop Uni­ver­si­ty

20. Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville

South­ern Illi­nois Uni­ver­si­ty, Edwardsville’s Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions bach­e­lor degree pro­grams are offered as either BA or BS degrees. SIUE’s mass com­mu­ni­ca­tions pro­gram has been rec­og­nized by the trust­ed Accred­it­ing Coun­cil on Edu­ca­tion in Jour­nal­ism and Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion. Stu­dents learn their trade using cut­ting-edge equip­ment and small class sizes. Degree can­di­dates select a spe­cial­ty from Jour­nal­ism, Adver­tis­ing & Strate­gic Media, or Journalism.

South­ern Illi­nois Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1957. Its 2,600+-acre cam­pus is about 20 miles (ca. 32 km) from down­town St. Louis. It is one of two mem­ber schools that com­prise the South­ern Illi­nois Uni­ver­si­ty sys­tem. Tuition rates remain the same for in-state res­i­dents and out-of-state res­i­dents. The uni­ver­si­ty offers degrees from its 8 schools/colleges. The school’s cam­pus ranks eleventh among the Safest Col­leges Cam­pus­es in the coun­try, accord­ing to the Nation­al Coun­cil for Home Safe­ty and Security.

What We Like: St. Louis is one of the largest media mar­kets in the US, and SIU’s con­nec­tions through­out the city mean the best intern­ships, net­work­ing, and job oppor­tu­ni­ties in the region.

Degree: BA or BS in Mass Communications

South­ern Illi­nois University

21. University of Louisiana at Lafayette

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Louisiana at Lafayette’s BA in Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion degree pro­gram pre­pares stu­dents to deliv­er ideas — accu­rate­ly, and effec­tive­ly. Great com­mu­ni­ca­tors are ver­sa­tile pro­fes­sion­als with new ways to com­mu­ni­cate chang­ing all the time. UL’s media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree explore com­mu­ni­ca­tion the­o­ries and their fun­da­men­tal prin­ci­ples. Stu­dents find reward­ing careers in the fields of online pub­li­ca­tions, news­pa­pers, or mag­a­zines. UL’s news­pa­per, The Ver­mil­ion, is stu­dent-pro­duced and man­aged, and a great place to network.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Louisiana at Lafayette was estab­lished as an indus­tri­al insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing in 1898. The school still acknowl­edges Aca­di­an French Her­itage. UL’s 1,300-acre urban cam­pus is locat­ed in Louisiana’s 4th largest city, Lafayette — in the Cajun por­tion of the state. UL’s cam­pus is home to 20,000 stu­dents earn­ing their degrees among the his­toric trade­mark ‘cen­tu­ry oaks’ across the campus.

What We Like: ULL offers mass com­mu­ni­ca­tion stu­dents the oppor­tu­ni­ty for a num­ber of endowed and non-endowed scholarships.

Degree: BA in Mass Communication

Uni­ver­si­ty of Louisiana at Lafayette

22. University of North Alabama

The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Alaba­ma offers a BA or BS in Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion or Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Arts. The bach­e­lor’s in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Arts degree option allows stu­dents to choose a Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Stud­ies empha­sis or a Cin­e­mat­ic Arts empha­sis. The Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Bach­e­lor degree has two emphases from which to choose– Pub­lic Rela­tions and Jour­nal­ism & Dig­i­tal Media Pro­duc­tion. Each degree/pathway includes an inde­pen­dent study or intern­ship. The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Alabama’s media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree has received accred­i­ta­tion from the Accred­it­ing Coun­cil on Edu­ca­tion in Jour­nal­ism and Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions (ACEJMC).

The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Alaba­ma was estab­lished in 1830 and holds the dis­tinc­tion of being the old­est insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing in the state of Alaba­ma. In the ear­ly 1870s, the Uni­ver­si­ty of North Alaba­ma was one of the first col­leges in the coun­try to offer coed­u­ca­tion edu­ca­tion. The school’s urban cam­pus is home to near­ly 7,700 stu­dents study­ing for at least 80-degree pro­grams through their schools/colleges.

What We Like: UNA has one of the high­est pro­por­tions of inter­na­tion­al stu­dents of any region­al uni­ver­si­ty, bring­ing diver­si­ty and glob­al per­spec­tive to pro­grams like media communications.

Degree: BA or BS in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Arts or Mass Communication

Uni­ver­si­ty of North Alabama

23. University of South Florida

The renowned Zim­mer­man School of Adver­tis­ing & Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions offers the Uni­ver­si­ty of South Flori­da BA in Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree pro­gram with com­mu­ni­ca­tion specializations/sequences. These include Pub­lic Rela­tions, Telecom­mu­ni­ca­tions News, Adver­tis­ing, Mul­ti­me­dia Jour­nal­ism, Telecom­mu­ni­ca­tions Pro­duc­tion, or News — Edi­to­r­i­al. All media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree can­di­dates must com­plete two cours­es: Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions & Soci­ety and Writ­ing for the Mass Media. The Zim­mer­man School awards numer­ous schol­ar­ships on a year­ly basis.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of South Flori­da was found­ed in 1956 and is locat­ed in the Tam­pa Bay region of Flori­da. The school serves over 50,000 stu­dents and is incred­i­bly diverse with over 40% iden­ti­fy­ing as non-white. The uni­ver­si­ty oper­ates with 14 col­leges — offer­ing over 180 majors. Nation­al­ly regard­ed, eight of these USF pro­grams rank in the top 50 accord­ing to U.S. News and World Report.

What We Like: USF’s loca­tion in the Tam­pa Bay met­ro­pol­i­tan area — the 14th largest media mar­ket in the US — means stu­dents have ample choic­es for intern­ships, and active recruit­ment from TV, radio, jour­nal­ism, and oth­er media outlets.

Degree: BA in Mass Communications

Uni­ver­si­ty of South Florida

24. Shippensburg University

Ship­pens­burg University’s BA in Communication/Journalism offers con­cen­tra­tions in Print Media, Pub­lic Rela­tions, or Elec­tron­ic Media. In addi­tion to Ship’s core cur­ricu­lum, a bach­e­lor’s in com­mu­ni­ca­tion degree requires the com­ple­tion of 42 cred­it units in upper-lev­el cours­es relat­ed to jour­nal­ism and com­mu­ni­ca­tion. Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion degree can­di­dates must also com­plete Applied Sta­tis­tics to meet the math require­ment. Ship­pens­burg University’s com­mu­ni­ca­tions bach­e­lor degree pro­gram has received accred­i­ta­tion from the Accred­it­ing Coun­cil on Edu­ca­tion in Jour­nal­ism and Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tions (ACEJMC) — one of only three in the state.

Ship­pens­burg Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1871. The school’s 200-acre rur­al cam­pus is home to near­ly 7,000 stu­dents and about 40 miles from the Com­mon­wealth of Pennsylvania’s cap­i­tal of Har­ris­burg. Ship­pens­burg University’s aver­age class size is 26 stu­dents. The school is home to the only ele­men­tary school lab in the state.

What We Like: Ship’s stu­dent-run SUTV has been award­ed an Emmy in the Nation­al Stu­dent Pro­duc­tion Awards.

Degree: BA in Communication/Journalism

Ship­pens­burg University

25. Southeast Missouri State University

South­east Mis­souri State University’s BS in Mass Com­mu­ni­ca­tion degree pro­gram offers sev­er­al pro­fes­sion­al emphases. These include Mul­ti­me­dia Jour­nal­ism, Tele­vi­sion & Film, Pub­lic Rela­tions, and Adver­tis­ing. Stu­dents grad­u­ate pre­pared for the quick-paced, ever-chang­ing world of mass com­mu­ni­ca­tions. SEMO’s BS in Com­mu­ni­ca­tions pro­gram requires degree can­di­dates to com­plete 36 hours of course­work in mass com­mu­ni­ca­tions. Past stu­dents have received intern­ships with Turn­er Broad­cast­ing, MEC, and ESPN. SEMO’s Depart­ment of Mass Media awards schol­ar­ships year­ly to eli­gi­ble stu­dents. All stu­dents are encour­aged to apply to deter­mine eligibility.

South­east Mis­souri State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1873 as a pub­lic insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing. The school’s main 325+-acre cam­pus is locat­ed near the Mis­sis­sip­pi River’s banks and is home to more than 11,500 stu­dents. The orig­i­nal school was estab­lished by lob­by­ing the state by sev­er­al wealthy, well-known politi­cians and local busi­ness­men. SEMO is, accord­ing to its enroll­ment, the sixth-largest pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty in the Show-Me state.

What We Like: The Rust Cen­ter for Media is the home of SMSU’s media pro­grams, a state-of-the-art cen­ter with labs, stu­dios, and stu­dent-led adver­tis­ing and pub­lic rela­tions firms.

Degree: BS in Mass Communication

South­east Mis­souri State University

What is Media and Communications?

As the field of com­mu­ni­ca­tions and media stud­ies becomes more diverse, more peo­ple are drawn to explor­ing career paths in the field. Pur­su­ing a degree in either media or com­mu­ni­ca­tions can pre­pare the indi­vid­ual for many work oppor­tu­ni­ties. Look­ing at these com­mu­ni­ca­tions and media stud­ies degree pro­grams, it is impor­tant to under­stand the sub­tle dif­fer­ences between the ways that col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties set a com­mu­ni­ca­tions and media stud­ies definition.

Study­ing media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions helps stu­dents learn and under­stand the lat­est in media trends and tech­nol­o­gy. It also helps them to devel­op crit­i­cal think­ing skills to be able to assess infor­ma­tion and how media impacts the world. The com­mu­ni­ca­tion and media stud­ies def­i­n­i­tion is a course of study that allows stu­dents to explore a wide range of media-relat­ed sub­jects such as the his­tor­i­cal and moral impact that the media can have on soci­ety. Stu­dents also devel­op skills such as copy­writ­ing and film/tv production.

There are many areas of media stud­ies, including:

• graph­ic design
• social media marketing
• dig­i­tal marketing
• inter­ac­tive media

You may also add spe­cial­iza­tions like project man­age­ment or cul­tur­al stud­ies to increase your mar­ketabil­i­ty. Media pro­fes­sion­als know there are many sides to the media indus­try, the Bureau of Labor Sta­tis­tics shows tremen­dous growth in the field. Full-time or part-time under­grad­u­ate pro­grams pre­pare stu­dents for this excit­ing field.

For a prop­er com­mu­ni­ca­tion and media stud­ies def­i­n­i­tion, think of com­mu­ni­ca­tion stud­ies as a broad­er field that explores all forms of com­mu­ni­ca­tions and the impact they have. With com­mu­ni­ca­tion and media stud­ies, stu­dents are pre­pared for careers in jour­nal­ism, mar­ket­ing, and busi­ness man­age­ment. Under­stand­ing how the media can impact soci­ety polit­i­cal­ly and the role it plays in sway­ing pub­lic opin­ion pro­vides stu­dents with the foun­da­tion for their career.

What Can You Do With a Mass Communications Degree?

A degree in media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions may seem appeal­ing but they won­der what are the types of careers in media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions. In oth­er words, what can you do with a mass com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree?

Most direct­ly link a mass com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree with jobs in jour­nal­ism such as tele­vi­sions, radio or film, but there are oth­er careers in media stud­ies that stu­dents should con­sid­er. The skills, such as copy­writ­ing and com­mu­ni­ca­tion strate­gies, learned in these types of pro­grams have led peo­ple into gov­ern­ment, busi­ness man­age­ment, mar­ket­ing, and pub­lic rela­tions. So, the options for careers in media and enter­tain­ment are many.

When won­der­ing what can you do with a mass com­mu­ni­ca­tions degree, there are a broad range of options. Stu­dents have even used their com­mu­ni­ca­tions skills in the the­ater, teach­ing roles, and edu­ca­tion. Stu­dents may even enter the field inter­est­ed in jour­nal­ism but grad­u­ate with anoth­er pro­fes­sion­al focus in mind, based on their stud­ies. Stu­dents inter­est­ed in pol­i­tics may become speech­writ­ers, while for­mer ath­letes may become commentators.

What Makes a Good Media Communications Program?

When look­ing for the best uni­ver­si­ties for media stud­ies, there are a num­ber of hall­marks to look for. The stu­dent-to-pro­fes­sor ratio is a big one. Stu­dents who receive indi­vid­ual atten­tion in small class­es in the best uni­ver­si­ties for media stud­ies are able to ask ques­tions and ful­ly under­stand the sub­ject mat­ter. Also, small­er class­es allow for more hands-on oppor­tu­ni­ties for those pur­su­ing a media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions major. Hands-on learn­ing rein­forces infor­ma­tion gained through stud­ies and class­room lectures.

Anoth­er thing to look at is the teach­ing staff’s cre­den­tials. The best col­leges for media com­mu­ni­ca­tions majors will have excep­tion­al, expe­ri­enced pro­fes­sors teach­ing about mate­ri­als they have expe­ri­enced first­hand in the field. A well-devel­oped media and com­mu­ni­ca­tions major pro­gram will also offer areas of con­cen­tra­tion for a com­mu­ni­ca­tions major so that stu­dents have the abil­i­ty to tai­lor their stud­ies with some top­ics that inter­est them such as health stud­ies or pub­lic advo­ca­cy. This gives them a broad, sol­id education.

Also, look at the pro­gram’s attri­tion rate. The best col­leges for media com­mu­ni­ca­tions majors will have a high­er grad­u­a­tion rate. If stu­dents are fail­ing to com­plete the pro­gram and grad­u­ate, this may indi­cate that each stu­dent is not get­ting the atten­tion they deserve. Look at each pro­gram in-depth and, if pos­si­ble, talk with a cur­rent pro­fes­sor or stu­dent to get a real feel of the program’s value.

Relat­ed Rank­ings:
15 Best Online Media Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Degree Bach­e­lor’s Pro­grams
10 Fastest Online Media Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Degree Bach­e­lor’s Pro­grams
10 Most Afford­able Online Media Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Degree Bach­e­lor Programs