Best Colleges for Communications & Journalism: Ranked by Graduate Salary, Not Prestige
We rank by what graduates actually earn — not by reputation surveys.
Top Schools for Communications & Journalism — Ranked by Graduate Salary
These schools produce the highest-earning Communications & Journalism graduates, based on federal earnings data. We rank by salary outcomes, not prestige.
| # | School | Communications & Journalism Salary | Acceptance Rate | Degrees/Year | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brown University Providence, RI |
$62,000 | 5.2% | 23 | Reach |
| 2 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY |
$62,000 | 8.2% | 62 | Reach |
| 3 | New York University (NYU) New York, NY |
$62,000 | 9.4% | 379 | Reach |
| 4 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL |
$62,000 | 7.1% | 329 | Reach |
| 5 | Stanford University Stanford, CA |
$62,000 | 3.9% | 13 | Reach |
| 6 | UCLA Los Angeles, CA |
$62,000 | 9.0% | 194 | Reach |
| 7 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA |
$62,000 | 5.9% | 57 | Reach |
| 8 | UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA |
$58,000 | 11.7% | 226 | Reach |
| 9 | USC Los Angeles, CA |
$58,000 | 10.0% | 424 | Reach |
| 10 | Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA |
$54,000 | 16.5% | 65 | Match |
| 11 | University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI |
$54,000 | 17.9% | 187 | Match |
| 12 | University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC |
$54,000 | 18.7% | 453 | Match |
| 13 | University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA |
$54,000 | 16.9% | 117 | Match |
| 14 | Texas A&M University Austin, TX |
$50,000 | 29.1% | 1,068 | Match |
| 15 | UC Irvine Irvine, CA |
$50,000 | 25.6% | 28 | Match |
| 16 | UC San Diego La Jolla, CA |
$50,000 | 24.5% | 211 | Match |
| 17 | UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA |
$50,000 | 27.8% | 566 | Match |
| 18 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL |
$50,000 | 24.0% | 696 | Match |
| 19 | UC Davis Davis, CA |
$46,000 | 41.6% | 239 | Safety |
| 20 | University of Illinois Champaign, IL |
$46,000 | 43.7% | 515 | Safety |
| 21 | University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA |
$46,000 | 49.7% | 40 | Safety |
| 22 | University of Rochester Rochester, NY |
$46,000 | 35.9% | 29 | Match |
| 23 | University of Washington Seattle, WA |
$46,000 | 42.5% | 308 | Safety |
| 24 | Ohio State University Columbus, OH |
$42,000 | 50.8% | 521 | Safety |
| 25 | Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ |
$42,000 | 65.3% | 400 | Safety |
| 26 | University of Connecticut Storrs, CT |
$42,000 | 53.9% | 331 | Safety |
| 27 | University of Texas at Austin College Station, TX |
$42,000 | 63.2% | 443 | Safety |
| 28 | Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA |
$42,000 | 57.0% | 225 | Safety |
| 29 | Drexel University Philadelphia, PA |
$40,000 | 77.5% | 43 | Safety |
| 30 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI |
$40,000 | 83.9% | 892 | Safety |
Data source: IPEDS, College Scorecard.