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Journalism Degree

178 schools compared · Average earnings $34,417/yr

Students study news reporting, investigative research, media ethics, multimedia storytelling, and the principles of informing the public through print, broadcast, and digital platforms. Graduates typically pursue careers as reporters, editors, broadcast journalists, podcast producers, and content strategists for news organizations and media companies. The shift to digital media has created new opportunities in data journalism, newsletter publishing, and multimedia storytelling.

What Journalism Graduates Do

Your journalism degree prepares you for a world of communication, but the day-to-day work varies significantly. As a writer or author, you'll spend most of your time researching, interviewing sources, and meticulously crafting prose for articles, books, or web content. In an editor role, you're the quality control, spending your day reviewing submissions, fact-checking details, and shaping raw copy into polished final products. For those chasing the story as a reporter, your work is a fast-paced cycle of finding leads, conducting interviews on tight deadlines, and verifying every fact before publication.

Career progression often starts with entry-level reporting or copy-editing roles, leading to senior positions like a section editor or a specialized columnist. While opportunities for writers and film editors are growing modestly, traditional newsroom and broadcast roles face significant headwinds. The biggest challenge, however, is AI. With extremely high exposure across core jobs, AI is fundamentally reshaping this field. It now handles much of the drafting and copy-editing that junior staff once did, shrinking entry-level opportunities. Your value will not be in producing raw content, but in directing AI, exercising sharp editorial judgment, and conducting original, on-the-ground reporting that algorithms cannot replicate.

Schools Offering

178

Avg Grad Earnings

$34,417/yr

Avg DegreeOutlook Score

34/100

AI Automation Risk

Very High

61% task exposure

Common Career Paths

Where Journalism graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 50,500 combined openings per year.

Career Path	Salary Range	Openings/yr	Growth	AI Risk
Communications teachers, postsecondary	$77,800 $60K$103K	2,700	+2.1%	43%
Editors	$75,260 $50K$101K	9,800	+0.6%	65%
Writers and authors	$72,270 $53K$98K	13,400	+3.6%	89%
Film and video editors	$70,980 $50K$102K	3,600	+4.0%	53%
News analysts, reporters, and journalists	$60,280 $40K$97K	4,100	-3.9%	65%
Proofreaders and copy markers	$49,210 $39K$62K	1,900	-0.6%	98%
Broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys	$45,680 $33K$72K	2,300	-5.5%	65%
Photographers	$42,520 $35K$62K	12,700	+1.8%	39%

Communications teachers, postsecondary

$77,800

$60K $103K

2,700 openings/yr +2.1% growth 43% AI risk

Editors

$75,260

$50K $101K

9,800 openings/yr +0.6% growth 65% AI risk

Writers and authors

$72,270

$53K $98K

13,400 openings/yr +3.6% growth 89% AI risk

Film and video editors

$70,980

$50K $102K

3,600 openings/yr +4.0% growth 53% AI risk

News analysts, reporters, and journalists

$60,280

$40K $97K

4,100 openings/yr -3.9% growth 65% AI risk

Proofreaders and copy markers

$49,210

$39K $62K

1,900 openings/yr -0.6% growth 98% AI risk

Broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys

$45,680

$33K $72K

2,300 openings/yr -5.5% growth 65% AI risk

Photographers

$42,520

$35K $62K

12,700 openings/yr +1.8% growth 39% AI risk

Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).

Best Schools for Journalism

Top 20 of 178 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	56 49–57	$48,637/yr	14.3x
2	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	55 49–57	$46,893/yr	14.3x
3	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	54 47–55	$46,652/yr	20.0x
4	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	51 45–52	$40,942/yr	14.2x
5	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	50 44–51	$43,958/yr	11.0x
6	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	50 43–51	$43,191/yr	12.3x
7	Ohio University-Eastern Campus Saint Clairsville, OH	50 45–51	$38,246/yr	22.9x
8	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus Chillicothe, OH	50 45–51	$38,246/yr	22.9x
9	Ohio University-Southern Campus Ironton, OH	50 45–51	$38,246/yr	22.9x
10	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus Lancaster, OH	50 45–51	$38,246/yr	22.9x
11	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus Zanesville, OH	50 45–51	$38,246/yr	22.9x
12	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	50 44–50	$38,164/yr	21.9x
13	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	49 43–50	$42,605/yr	12.0x
14	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN	49 43–50	$39,992/yr	13.0x
15	Utah State University Logan, UT	48 41–49	$41,431/yr	13.9x
16	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	47 41–48	$42,450/yr	9.2x
17	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR	47 42–48	$38,354/yr	14.4x
18	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	46 41–47	$39,336/yr	12.1x
19	Georgia College & State University Milledgeville, GA	46 40–47	$38,603/yr	14.5x
20	University of Georgia Athens, GA	45 40–45	$36,636/yr	12.8x
21	University of Mississippi University, MS	45 41–46	$35,389/yr	15.4x
22	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	45 41–45	$33,250/yr	13.6x
23	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	45 42–46	$31,788/yr	21.1x
24	George Washington University Washington, DC	44 37–45	$52,015/yr	2.1x
25	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	44 38–45	$40,945/yr	15.1x
26	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK	44 39–45	$36,744/yr	13.9x
27	California State University-Chico Chico, CA	44 40–45	$35,668/yr	16.4x
28	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO	43 38–44	$37,644/yr	12.1x
29	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV	43 39–43	$34,075/yr	14.4x
30	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	43 39–43	$34,022/yr	10.5x
31	Iowa State University Ames, IA	42 37–43	$39,347/yr	11.4x
32	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH	42 37–43	$38,246/yr	9.7x
33	Kansas State University Manhattan, KS	42 37–42	$37,484/yr	11.5x
34	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV	42 38–43	$36,109/yr	14.0x
35	Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA	42 38–42	$33,798/yr	20.0x
36	University of North Texas Denton, TX	41 36–42	$38,118/yr	11.0x
37	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	41 36–41	$36,521/yr	9.9x
38	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Tallahassee, FL	41 37–42	$36,356/yr	18.4x
39	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI	41 36–42	$36,139/yr	14.2x
40	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	41 36–41	$34,743/yr	12.0x
41	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	40 35–40	$35,509/yr	10.9x
42	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA	40 35–40	$34,119/yr	13.3x
43	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	40 37–41	$30,644/yr	17.6x
44	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	39 32–40	$50,426/yr	1.7x
45	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC	39 33–40	$38,762/yr	9.1x
46	Auburn University Auburn, AL	39 33–39	$38,357/yr	9.3x
47	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	39 34–39	$36,912/yr	8.1x
48	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	39 34–39	$36,352/yr	9.7x
49	University of Houston Houston, TX	39 34–39	$36,226/yr	11.7x
50	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM	39 35–39	$32,423/yr	14.9x
51	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	39 36–40	$31,955/yr	11.4x
52	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	39 36–39	$30,564/yr	17.8x
53	CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY	39 37–40	$26,319/yr	19.8x
54	Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN	38 32–38	$38,540/yr	10.0x
55	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	38 33–39	$37,091/yr	7.5x
56	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	38 36–39	$28,844/yr	18.4x
57	The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ	37 31–38	$42,217/yr	4.6x
58	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL	37 31–38	$40,575/yr	7.9x
59	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	37 33–38	$36,303/yr	8.0x
60	University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage, AK	37 32–37	$36,200/yr	11.0x
61	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	36 29–37	$44,651/yr	1.7x
62	Boston University Boston, MA	36 29–37	$42,857/yr	1.8x
63	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH	36 30–37	$41,159/yr	7.1x
64	University of Nebraska at Kearney Kearney, NE	36 31–36	$36,703/yr	11.4x
65	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE	36 32–36	$32,553/yr	11.6x
66	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	36 32–36	$32,523/yr	8.0x
67	Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ	36 32–36	$32,523/yr	8.4x
68	Ball State University Muncie, IN	36 32–36	$31,398/yr	11.6x
69	State University of New York at New Paltz New Paltz, NY	36 33–36	$29,628/yr	14.4x
70	CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY	36 34–37	$23,120/yr	18.3x
71	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY	36 34–36	$22,839/yr	17.9x
72	Northeastern University Boston, MA	35 28–36	$51,855/yr	1.5x
73	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI	35 29–35	$37,875/yr	6.6x
74	Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Indiana, PA	35 30–35	$37,263/yr	8.9x
75	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH	35 31–36	$32,840/yr	7.6x
76	University at Albany Albany, NY	35 33–35	$28,553/yr	12.6x
77	University of West Georgia Carrollton, GA	35 33–36	$27,268/yr	19.3x
78	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	34 28–35	$45,256/yr	0.8x
79	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	34 28–35	$40,757/yr	1.9x
80	Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT	34 28–34	$40,184/yr	2.2x
81	Liberty University Lynchburg, VA	34 29–35	$39,592/yr	3.7x
82	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY	34 29–35	$36,926/yr	8.0x
83	University of Memphis Memphis, TN	34 30–34	$32,820/yr	10.6x
84	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA	34 30–34	$32,294/yr	9.0x
85	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA	34 31–34	$28,416/yr	13.9x
86	Savannah State University Savannah, GA	34 32–35	$24,310/yr	21.2x
87	University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA	33 26–34	$43,157/yr	0.7x
88	Chapman University Orange, CA	33 27–34	$41,645/yr	1.8x
89	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI	33 28–34	$38,700/yr	2.4x
90	Illinois State University Normal, IL	33 28–34	$36,643/yr	6.6x
91	Washington State University Pullman, WA	33 28–33	$36,273/yr	6.0x
92	Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT	33 28–33	$36,153/yr	6.0x
93	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI	33 28–34	$35,545/yr	7.4x
94	Rowan University Glassboro, NJ	33 29–34	$34,038/yr	7.5x
95	University of Oregon Eugene, OR	33 29–34	$33,525/yr	7.6x
96	New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM	33 29–33	$32,825/yr	12.0x
97	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA	33 30–33	$30,792/yr	12.3x
98	University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO	33 30–33	$30,216/yr	10.2x
99	Appalachian State University Boone, NC	33 30–33	$27,116/yr	14.9x
100	Fordham University Bronx, NY	32 26–34	$42,769/yr	0.7x
101	Pepperdine University Malibu, CA	32 26–33	$42,536/yr	0.6x
102	The University of Montana Missoula, MT	32 27–32	$35,924/yr	10.0x
103	Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY	32 27–32	$35,050/yr	8.5x
104	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ	32 28–33	$33,710/yr	8.6x
105	University of Idaho Moscow, ID	32 28–32	$33,253/yr	8.4x
106	SUNY Brockport Brockport, NY	32 29–33	$33,085/yr	11.2x
107	SUNY College at Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, NY	32 29–33	$32,456/yr	11.4x
108	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN	32 28–32	$32,082/yr	8.5x
109	University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS	32 29–32	$29,591/yr	11.6x
110	Morgan State University Baltimore, MD	32 30–32	$28,088/yr	13.7x
111	American University Washington, DC	31 24–32	$44,387/yr	1.5x
112	Drake University Des Moines, IA	31 25–32	$41,913/yr	1.9x
113	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	31 25–32	$40,502/yr	1.6x
114	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH	31 27–32	$34,829/yr	5.4x
115	Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT	31 27–32	$34,577/yr	5.9x
116	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	31 29–32	$24,026/yr	8.5x
117	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	31 29–32	$24,026/yr	8.5x
118	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT	31 29–32	$24,026/yr	8.5x
119	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	31 29–32	$24,026/yr	8.5x
120	Creighton University Omaha, NE	30 24–31	$43,139/yr	1.8x
121	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	30 24–31	$41,378/yr	1.6x
122	Emerson College Boston, MA	30 24–30	$39,703/yr	1.8x
123	Arkansas Tech University Russellville, AR	30 26–30	$32,183/yr	10.5x
124	University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR	30 27–31	$31,911/yr	10.0x
125	Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL	30 26–30	$31,753/yr	8.3x
126	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH	30 26–30	$30,925/yr	8.5x
127	Texas Southern University Houston, TX	30 27–30	$18,301/yr	12.9x
128	CUNY York College Jamaica, NY	29 27–29	$24,535/yr	14.0x
129	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	29 28–30	$24,026/yr	7.1x
130	SUNY at Purchase College Purchase, NY	29 27–30	$22,011/yr	12.6x
131	DePaul University Chicago, IL	28 23–28	$37,388/yr	2.1x
132	Loyola University New Orleans New Orleans, LA	28 23–29	$37,206/yr	1.0x
133	Elon University Elon, NC	28 24–28	$34,105/yr	2.5x
134	Texas State University San Marcos, TX	28 24–29	$33,255/yr	7.8x
135	Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI	28 25–29	$31,845/yr	6.8x
136	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	28 25–28	$31,068/yr	6.6x
137	Temple University Philadelphia, PA	28 25–28	$30,959/yr	5.1x
138	Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN	28 25–28	$30,659/yr	7.1x
139	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	28 26–29	$30,269/yr	8.1x
140	Angelo State University San Angelo, TX	28 25–28	$30,008/yr	8.0x
141	Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY	28 25–28	$29,647/yr	9.3x
142	Marshall University Huntington, WV	28 26–29	$23,169/yr	12.2x
143	Biola University La Mirada, CA	27 21–28	$41,997/yr	1.0x
144	Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL	27 21–27	$38,302/yr	1.7x
145	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY	27 22–27	$37,241/yr	1.7x
146	Canisius University Buffalo, NY	27 22–27	$34,766/yr	1.7x
147	Ashford University San Diego, CA	27 24–28	$32,459/yr	7.2x
148	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	27 24–27	$31,102/yr	4.5x
149	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA	27 24–27	$29,686/yr	10.6x
150	University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, OK	27 25–27	$28,139/yr	11.1x
151	Wayne State University Detroit, MI	27 24–27	$26,591/yr	8.0x
152	Baylor University Waco, TX	26 22–27	$35,675/yr	1.8x
153	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	26 23–26	$29,622/yr	5.2x
154	SUNY at Fredonia Fredonia, NY	26 24–27	$28,485/yr	10.3x
155	Central State University Wilberforce, OH	26 23–26	$28,306/yr	10.7x
156	Radford University Radford, VA	26 24–26	$25,675/yr	8.9x
157	Ithaca College Ithaca, NY	25 21–25	$34,453/yr	1.9x
158	Suffolk University Boston, MA	25 21–25	$33,628/yr	0.9x
159	University of Maine Orono, ME	25 22–25	$28,704/yr	4.7x
160	University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Pine Bluff, AR	25 23–25	$27,259/yr	6.6x
161	Gonzaga University Spokane, WA	24 19–24	$36,767/yr	1.4x
162	St Bonaventure University Saint Bonaventure, NY	24 20–24	$34,045/yr	2.2x
163	Mercer University Macon, GA	24 20–24	$32,807/yr	1.0x
164	Hampton University Hampton, VA	24 22–25	$28,324/yr	3.8x
165	Lincoln University Jefferson City, MO	24 22–24	$26,356/yr	6.1x
166	St. John's University-New York Queens, NY	23 18–23	$36,020/yr	1.3x
167	Point Park University Pittsburgh, PA	23 18–23	$34,887/yr	1.9x
168	North Greenville University Tigerville, SC	23 19–24	$34,293/yr	2.7x
169	Columbia College Chicago Chicago, IL	23 19–23	$31,369/yr	2.8x
170	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN	23 21–24	$27,474/yr	3.8x
171	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ	21 20–22	$25,575/yr	3.3x
172	Louisiana Tech University Ruston, LA	21 19–22	$21,087/yr	4.2x
173	Samford University Birmingham, AL	20 17–20	$30,311/yr	2.2x
174	Flagler College Saint Augustine, FL	20 18–20	$27,863/yr	1.6x
175	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI	19 18–20	$25,033/yr	5.8x
176	Rust College Holly Springs, MS	19 17–19	$24,977/yr	5.4x
177	California Baptist University Riverside, CA	18 16–18	$26,026/yr	0.6x
178	Widener University Chester, PA	16 14–17	$22,058/yr	0.0x

Highest Earning Journalism Programs

Schools where Journalism graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score
George Washington University	$52,015/yr	44
Northeastern University	$51,855/yr	35
Northwestern University	$50,426/yr	39
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	$48,637/yr	56
University of Maryland-College Park	$46,893/yr	55
Brigham Young University	$46,652/yr	54
Lehigh University	$45,256/yr	34
University of Southern California	$44,651/yr	36
American University	$44,387/yr	31
University of Missouri-Columbia	$43,958/yr	50

Best ROI for Journalism

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Journalism.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
Ohio University-Eastern Campus	22.9x	$38,246/yr	50
Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus	22.9x	$38,246/yr	50
Ohio University-Southern Campus	22.9x	$38,246/yr	50
Ohio University-Lancaster Campus	22.9x	$38,246/yr	50
Ohio University-Zanesville Campus	22.9x	$38,246/yr	50
University of Florida	21.9x	$38,164/yr	50
Savannah State University	21.2x	$24,310/yr	34
San Francisco State University	21.1x	$31,788/yr	45
Georgia Southern University	20.0x	$33,798/yr	42
Brigham Young University	20.0x	$46,652/yr	54

Want to compare two Journalism programs side by side? Use the comparison tool →

Related Majors

Explore similar fields of study.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Journalism graduates earn?

Across 178 schools, Journalism graduates earn an average of $34,417 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $18,301 to $52,015 depending on the school.

What is the AI automation risk for Journalism?

Journalism is rated "Very High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 61% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means most career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

Which school has the best Journalism program?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo ranks #1 for Journalism with a score of 56/100 and graduate earnings of $48,637/yr.

What's the outlook for a Journalism degree?

On average, Journalism graduates earn 9.0x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly.

Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →