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Best Communication & Journalism Schools in California

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2023 Best Communication & Journalism Schools in California

25 Colleges
$35,856 Avg Salary
$20,624 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Communication & Journalism School for You

In 2020-2021, 858 degrees and certificates were awarded to communication and journalism students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #18 most popular major in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 Communication & Journalism Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 25 schools in California to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Communication & Journalism Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Communication & Journalism Colleges.

Top 10 Best Communication & Journalism Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in California for communication and journalism students. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Communication & Journalism Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Full Communication & Journalism at University of Southern California Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Barbara. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Communication & Journalism Schools in California list. UCSB is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at University of California - Santa Barbara

#4

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

The excellent programs at University of San Francisco helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best communication and journalism schools in California. Located in the large city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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Out of the 25 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the # 5 spot on the list. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Davis.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at University of California - Davis

#6

Chapman University

Orange, CA

With a ranking of #6, Chapman University did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and journalism students. Located in the midsize city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

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With a ranking of #7, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and journalism students. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at University of California - Berkeley

With a ranking of #8, University of California - San Diego did quite well on this year’s best schools for communication and journalism students. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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#9

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best communication and journalism programs. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Communication & Journalism at San Diego State University

#10

Biola University

La Mirada, CA

Biola University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best communication and journalism programs. Located in the large suburb of La Mirada, Biola is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

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Best Communication & Journalism Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Communication & Journalism Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 243
Oregon 115
Nevada 30
Hawaii 26
Alaska 4

Communication & Journalism Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 5,059
Public Relations & Advertising 2,828
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 2,562
Journalism 1,238
Communication & Journalism (Other) 341
Publishing 214

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 199,724
Psychology 42,013
Social Sciences 22,292
Library Science 5,929
History 4,391

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 Josh Hallett.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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