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Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

29 Colleges
$29,194 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$37,160 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Communication & Media Studies School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, communication and media studies was ranked #47 in the country. In fact 5,059 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 29 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for communications students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region

Check out the communications programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Communication & Media Studies Schools

#1

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA
$19,184 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found San Francisco State University to be the best value school for communication and media studies students who want to pursue a degree in the Far Western US Region . SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Francisco.

SFSU undergraduate students pay an average of $19,184 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Communication & Media Studies at San Francisco State University Report

$24,827 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Nevada - Reno. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. UNR is a very large public school located in the city of Reno.

UNR undergraduate students pay an average of $24,827 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#3

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
$20,016 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at San Diego State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best communication and media studies schools in the Far Western US Region . SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SDSU are $20,016 per year.

Full Communication & Media Studies at San Diego State University Report

$18,726 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Long Beach helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best communication and media studies schools in the Far Western US Region . Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $18,726 per year.

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$19,272 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Sacramento. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

Sac State undergraduate students pay an average of $19,272 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Communication & Media Studies at California State University - Sacramento Report

Out of the 29 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCSB are $44,171 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UCSB also did well on our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Communication & Media Studies at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

#7

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

University of San Francisco came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. USFCA is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at USFCA are $53,472 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, USFCA is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

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$37,018 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, California Baptist University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for communication and media studies students. Located in the city of Riverside, Cal Baptist is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Baptist are $37,018 per year.

Full Communication & Media Studies at California Baptist University Report

With a ranking of #9, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for communication and media studies students. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.

San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $19,732 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, San Jose State is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

Full Communication & Media Studies at San Jose State University Report

#10

National University

La Jolla, CA
$13,320 Average Tuition & Fees

National University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for communication and media studies students. It came in at #10 on the list. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of La Jolla.

National University undergraduate students pay an average of $13,320 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at National University

Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best communication and media studies colleges for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 509
Washington 62
Oregon 27
Nevada 18
Hawaii 21
Alaska 4

Communication & Media Studies is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.

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.

  • 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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