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Best Schools for Communication and Media Studies in 2026

613 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Communication and Media Studies, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Communication and Media Studies graduate earns $35,147/yr across 613 schools.

Programs Ranked
613
Avg Earnings
$35,147/yr
Avg DW Score
36/100
AI Risk
High
54% task exposure

All Communication and Media Studies Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

# School DW Score Earnings ROI
1 University of Maryland Global Campus
Adelphi, MD · Public 		63
56–64 		$53,513/yr 21.4x
2 Colorado State University Global
Aurora, CO · Public 		62
55–63 		$49,436/yr 21.7x
3 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA · Public 		61
54–62 		$62,183/yr 14.1x
4 CUNY Graduate School and University Center
New York, NY · Public 		61
54–62 		$57,782/yr 19.7x
5 University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public 		59
51–60 		$43,696/yr 14.7x
6 San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA · Public 		57
50–58 		$40,790/yr 22.4x
7 University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD · Public 		57
50–58 		$43,696/yr 15.5x
8 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI · Public 		57
50–58 		$50,556/yr 10.8x
9 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC · Public 		57
49–58 		$43,348/yr 17.8x
10 Utah Valley University
Orem, UT · Public 		57
50–58 		$44,202/yr 23.3x
11 University of California-Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA · Public 		55
47–56 		$46,598/yr 11.3x
12 CUNY City College
New York, NY · Public 		55
47–56 		$42,734/yr 19.3x
13 California State University-Sacramento
Sacramento, CA · Public 		54
47–55 		$39,304/yr 19.8x
14 Metropolitan State University
Saint Paul, MN · Public 		54
47–55 		$46,320/yr 14.3x
15 Weber State University
Ogden, UT · Public 		54
47–55 		$43,209/yr 20.8x
16 University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA · Public 		54
46–55 		$44,638/yr 12.5x
17 University of Washington-Bothell Campus
Bothell, WA · Public 		54
47–55 		$44,638/yr 12.6x
18 University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
Tacoma, WA · Public 		54
46–55 		$44,638/yr 12.3x
19 Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, GA · Public 		54
47–55 		$43,420/yr 22.3x
20 University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ · Public 		53
46–54 		$42,993/yr 12.1x
21 California State University-East Bay
Hayward, CA · Public 		53
46–53 		$35,722/yr 22.9x
22 University of California-Davis
Davis, CA · Public 		53
46–54 		$42,569/yr 11.4x
23 University of Georgia
Athens, GA · Public 		53
45–54 		$44,283/yr 13.0x
24 Towson University
Towson, MD · Public 		53
45–53 		$42,657/yr 13.1x
25 University of Nevada-Reno
Reno, NV · Public 		53
45–54 		$40,296/yr 16.2x
26 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
Norman, OK · Public 		53
45–54 		$45,009/yr 14.2x
27 University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT · Public 		53
45–54 		$43,801/yr 14.7x
28 University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA · Public 		53
46–54 		$47,368/yr 8.5x
29 Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ · Public 		52
44–53 		$44,571/yr 11.9x
30 University of Delaware
Newark, DE · Public 		52
45–53 		$41,897/yr 10.8x
31 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Whitewater, WI · Public 		52
44–52 		$39,367/yr 16.9x
32 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Oshkosh, WI · Public 		52
44–52 		$40,673/yr 16.3x
33 California State University-Channel Islands
Camarillo, CA · Public 		52
45–53 		$40,109/yr 19.6x
34 University of Phoenix-Arizona
Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit 		52
44–53 		$47,919/yr 13.0x
35 University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR · Public 		51
44–52 		$40,095/yr 14.7x
36 California State University-Chico
Chico, CA · Public 		51
44–52 		$38,421/yr 17.4x
37 San Diego State University
San Diego, CA · Public 		51
43–51 		$37,773/yr 17.0x
38 Minnesota State University-Mankato
Mankato, MN · Public 		51
44–52 		$39,798/yr 15.0x
39 University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE · Public 		51
43–52 		$41,327/yr 15.5x
40 University of New Hampshire at Manchester
Manchester, NH · Public 		51
44–52 		$43,551/yr 10.0x
41 Rutgers University-New Brunswick
New Brunswick, NJ · Public 		51
44–52 		$43,649/yr 9.5x
42 The University of Texas Permian Basin
Odessa, TX · Public 		51
43–52 		$46,203/yr 12.0x
43 Brigham Young University
Provo, UT · Private nonprofit 		51
43–52 		$46,747/yr 17.0x
44 James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA · Public 		51
44–52 		$42,769/yr 11.2x
45 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Eau Claire, WI · Public 		51
43–51 		$40,333/yr 14.6x
46 Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN · Public 		51
43–52 		$41,409/yr 13.7x
47 Florida Gulf Coast University
Fort Myers, FL · Public 		51
43–51 		$39,342/yr 20.3x
48 Florida International University
Miami, FL · Public 		50
43–51 		$36,424/yr 20.7x
49 University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA · Public 		50
42–50 		$37,647/yr 13.6x
50 Cornell University
Ithaca, NY · Private nonprofit 		50
44–51 		$62,182/yr 2.4x

Methodology

Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Communication and Media Studies?
Based on our DegreeWorth Score, University of Maryland Global Campus ranks #1 for Communication and Media Studies with a score of 63/100 and graduate earnings of $53,513/yr.
How much do Communication and Media Studies graduates earn?
Across 613 schools, Communication and Media Studies graduates earn an average of $35,147/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $62,183/yr.
Is Communication and Media Studies a good major for AI resistance?
Communication and Media Studies has an average AI task exposure of 54%, rated "High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.