Best Schools For Communications Majors by Salary Potential
Get the most out of your bachelor’s degree in journalism or communications. Check out the best undergraduate communication and journalism school rankings by salary.
| Rank | School Name | Early Career Pay | Mid-Career Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | School Name: University of California-Berkeley | Early Career Pay:$79,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$168,800 |
| Rank:2 | School Name: Santa Clara University | Early Career Pay:$79,900 | Mid-Career Pay:$165,700 |
| Rank:3 | School Name: University of Pennsylvania | Early Career Pay:$84,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$163,600 |
| Rank:4 | School Name: Stanford University | Early Career Pay:$87,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$157,700 |
| Rank:5 | School Name:_50px.png) University of California-Santa Barbara | Early Career Pay:$70,000 | Mid-Career Pay:$156,200 |
| Rank:6 | School Name: Vanderbilt University | Early Career Pay:$77,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$153,900 |
| Rank:7 | School Name:_50px.jpg) University of California-Davis | Early Career Pay:$71,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$152,000 |
| Rank:8 | School Name: Wake Forest University | Early Career Pay:$67,900 | Mid-Career Pay:$150,200 |
| Rank:9 | School Name: Boston University | Early Career Pay:$66,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$147,300 |
| Rank:10 | School Name: Seattle University | Early Career Pay:$69,000 | Mid-Career Pay:$146,000 |
| Rank:11 | School Name: Fairfield University | Early Career Pay:$72,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$145,400 |
| Rank:12 | School Name: Northwestern University | Early Career Pay:$70,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$145,200 |
| Rank:13 | School Name:_50px.png) George Washington University | Early Career Pay:$72,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$144,400 |
| Rank:14 | School Name:_50px.png) New York University | Early Career Pay:$70,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$143,500 |
| Rank:15 | School Name: - Main Campus_50px.jpg) University of Virginia-Main Campus | Early Career Pay:$61,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$143,100 |
| Rank:16 | School Name: Boston College | Early Career Pay:$74,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$142,200 |
| Rank:17 | School Name:_50px.png) University of Southern California | Early Career Pay:$70,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$141,800 |
| Rank:18 | School Name:_50px.jpg) University of California-Los Angeles | Early Career Pay:$72,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$141,600 |
| Rank:19 | School Name: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Early Career Pay:$67,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$139,000 |
| Rank:19 | School Name: Syracuse University | Early Career Pay:$68,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$139,000 |
| Rank:21 | School Name: University of Puget Sound | Early Career Pay:$65,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$137,900 |
| Rank:22 | School Name: Rutgers University-New Brunswick | Early Career Pay:$65,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$137,200 |
| Rank:23 | School Name: Art Center College of Design | Early Career Pay:$81,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$137,000 |
| Rank:24 | School Name:_50px.jpg) San Jose State University | Early Career Pay:$71,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$136,300 |
| Rank:25 | School Name: Ithaca College | Early Career Pay:$62,200 | Mid-Career Pay:$134,700 |
The ability to communicate clearly and accurately is a key skill in any professional field, but how do communication and journalism majors stack up in terms of pay? If you want to study communication or journalism, you’d be well served to pick a school where students with these majors go on to earn high salaries. Payscale can help you identify those schools with our College Salary Report.
PayScale has median salary data for communication and journalism majors from scores of colleges and universities.
Perennially good schools for communications and journalism majors hoping to earn top dollar for their skills include the University of Southern California, New York University, Northwestern University, and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Colleges in big cities are a good bet for communication and journalism majors, as their proximity to big media outlets and companies will increase students’ chances of getting internships and jobs instead of ending up on local news in a small-town market.