2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree School for You
Communication & Media Studies is the #47 most popular major in the country with 5,059 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 239 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the communications master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Communication & Media Studies
Our analysis found University of Pennsylvania to be the best school for communication and media studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Full Communication & Media Studies at University of Pennsylvania Report
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Northwestern University is a great place for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
Full Communication & Media Studies at Northwestern University Report
Out of the 239 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Johns Hopkins University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Baltimore.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Cornell University is a great place for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Full Communication & Media Studies at Cornell University Report
Out of the 239 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Drake University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Drake is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Des Moines.
Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree communication and media studies programs. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York
Purdue University - Main Campus ranked #7 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Purdue University - Main Campus
Villanova University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
University of Southern California ranked #9 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
With a ranking of #10, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. UMN Twin Cities is a very large public school located in the city of Minneapolis.
Full Communication & Media Studies at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Report
Fairfield University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for communication and media studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the suburb of Fairfield, Fairfield U is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Full Communication & Media Studies at Fairfield University Report
With a ranking of #12, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
With a ranking of #13, University of Delaware did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Newark, UD is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Stanford University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.
Full Communication & Media Studies at Stanford University Report
With a ranking of #15, Texas Christian University did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. TCU is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Fort Worth.
University of Dayton came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Full Communication & Media Studies at University of Dayton Report
James Madison University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Communication & Media Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at James Madison University
With a ranking of #18, University of Iowa did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. Iowa is a fairly large public school located in the city of Iowa City.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at University of Iowa
University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree communication and media studies programs. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a very large student population.
With a ranking of #20, George Washington University did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and media studies students working on their master’s degree. GWU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.
Full Communication & Media Studies at George Washington University Report
University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree communication and media studies programs. Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at University of California - Santa Barbara
University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for communication and media studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. UW Seattle is a fairly large public school located in the city of Seattle.
Full Communication & Media Studies at University of Washington - Seattle Campus Report
Virginia Tech did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for communication and media studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Blacksburg.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Virginia Tech
University of San Francisco landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree communication and media studies programs. USFCA is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.
Full Communication & Media Studies at University of San Francisco Report
South Dakota State University landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree communication and media studies programs. Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at South Dakota State University
Rest of the Top Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | University of Nevada - Reno | Reno, NV |
| 37 | Bryant University | Smithfield, RI |
| 38 | Brigham Young University - Provo | Provo, UT |
| 39 | University of Florida | Gainesville, FL |
| 40 | University of Georgia | Athens, GA |
| 41 | University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ |
| 42 | Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus, OH |
| 43 | University of Denver | Denver, CO |
| 44 | University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, IA |
| 45 | Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network | Boston, MA |
| 46 | Marquette University | Milwaukee, WI |
| 47 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha, NE |
Communication & Media Studies by Region
View the Best Communication & Media Studies Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Communication & Media Studies Rankings
Communication & Media Studies Related Rankings by Major
Communication & Media Studies is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Public Relations & Advertising | 2,828 |
| Radio, Television & Digital Communication | 2,562 |
| Journalism | 1,238 |
| Communication & Journalism (Other) | 341 |
| Publishing | 214 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to UNU-WIDER from Helsinki, Finland.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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