Best ROI: Communication and Media Studies

Schools offering Communication and Media Studies ranked by overall ROI score. The average graduate in this field earns $36,079 four years after graduation. These are the schools where this major delivers the strongest financial return.

50 schools ranked

#	School	ROI	Net Price	10yr Earnings	Median Debt	Completion	Tier
1	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	97	$13,481	$92,446	$13,000	92.8%	Exceptional
2	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	97	$28,699	$111,371	$15,715	96.5%	Exceptional
3	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	96	$16,665	$90,768	$18,500	86.4%	Exceptional
4	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	96	$12,470	$84,943	$15,500	86.1%	Exceptional
5	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	96	$28,690	$104,043	$14,000	95.4%	Exceptional
6	Brown University Providence, RI	96	$25,184	$93,487	$11,428	95.7%	Exceptional
7	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	95	$14,741	$80,838	$13,000	85.7%	Exceptional
8	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	95	$13,138	$83,648	$19,500	93.2%	Exceptional
9	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	95	$21,565	$86,863	$17,500	95.6%	Exceptional
10	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	94	$29,167	$89,363	$15,000	95.1%	Exceptional
11	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	94	$15,678	$82,860	$19,000	88.6%	Exceptional
12	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	94	$11,655	$72,200	$14,000	91.2%	Exceptional
13	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	94	$15,564	$75,790	$11,069	81.0%	Exceptional
14	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	94	$14,091	$78,466	$14,615	85.2%	Exceptional
15	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	93	$14,355	$81,054	$19,500	85.1%	Exceptional
16	Emory University Atlanta, GA	92	$22,585	$80,137	$18,250	91.1%	Exceptional
17	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	92	$41,704	$103,937	$19,000	90.8%	Exceptional
18	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY	92	$3,033	$75,971	$11,512	72.1%	Exceptional
19	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	91	$32,740	$92,498	$18,000	91.8%	Exceptional
20	Northeastern University Boston, MA	91	$30,915	$92,538	$24,250	90.5%	Exceptional
21	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	91	$17,354	$73,792	$20,484	89.5%	Exceptional
22	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	91	$14,600	$72,424	$19,500	83.1%	Exceptional
23	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA	91	$12,319	$78,466	$14,615	65.3%	Exceptional
24	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA	91	$10,163	$78,466	$14,615	63.2%	Exceptional
25	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	90	$16,109	$74,915	$13,993	83.0%	Exceptional
26	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	90	$50,062	$109,183	$19,162	87.9%	Exceptional
27	Boston University Boston, MA	90	$24,402	$83,238	$23,250	88.7%	Exceptional
28	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	90	$19,857	$75,121	$20,500	88.9%	Exceptional
29	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	89	$11,531	$71,902	$16,000	68.4%	Strong
30	Villanova University Villanova, PA	89	$43,756	$100,423	$25,874	91.9%	Strong
31	Texas A&M University-College Station College Station, TX	89	$21,315	$72,097	$17,804	83.9%	Strong
32	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	89	$24,953	$81,698	$21,500	86.2%	Strong
33	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	88	$6,555	$62,951	$13,750	70.2%	Strong
34	University of San Diego San Diego, CA	88	$30,365	$86,522	$22,940	83.7%	Strong
35	George Washington University Washington, DC	88	$36,586	$90,873	$20,449	84.0%	Strong
36	University of Georgia Athens, GA	88	$13,936	$68,726	$18,500	89.7%	Strong
37	Clarkson University Potsdam, NY	88	$30,305	$89,696	$26,000	74.9%	Strong
38	Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC	88	$28,719	$78,158	$21,500	89.1%	Strong
39	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	87	$17,303	$68,758	$20,121	84.8%	Strong
40	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	87	$13,807	$73,997	$21,500	61.6%	Strong
41	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	87	$16,403	$73,997	$21,500	65.0%	Strong
42	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	86	$10,440	$64,403	$14,289	68.9%	Strong
43	University of Delaware Newark, DE	86	$17,799	$72,950	$24,572	80.5%	Strong
44	Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA	86	$29,689	$86,881	$25,500	78.8%	Strong
45	University of the Pacific Stockton, CA	85	$25,447	$78,445	$19,500	69.0%	Strong
46	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	85	$25,097	$73,997	$21,500	83.3%	Strong
47	University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL	85	$10,974	$68,740	$16,704	61.6%	Strong
48	Trinity University San Antonio, TX	85	$23,464	$71,668	$22,954	84.0%	Strong
49	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	85	$10,875	$73,997	$21,500	52.7%	Strong
50	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	84	$15,364	$64,909	$15,000	76.4%	Strong

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How We Rank

Rankings are based on our ROI score (0-100), which weights five quantifiable factors: Earnings Premium (30%), Payback Period (25%), Debt-to-Earnings (20%), Completion Rate (15%), and Loan Repayment (10%). All data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. No subjective criteria are used.

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Best ROI: Communication and Media Studies

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