The Best Universities for Communication & Media Studies in the USA (2024)

There are many reasons why someone might want to study Communication & Media Studies at a university in the USA. Here are just a few:

• The USA is home to some of the world's largest and most influential media corporations, such as The Walt Disney Company, WarnerMedia, and Comcast. This proximity provides students with unique insights into the media industry and opportunities for networking and career advancement.
• Communication & Media Studies Masters Degrees offer various specialisations including digital media, public relations, marketing communications, political communication, that cater to a wide array of interests within the field.
• Being at the forefront of technological advancements, particularly digital communications, students often have access to the latest tools and resources to conduct research and push boundaries of existing knowledge.
• As a melting pot of cultures and a vibrant international student community, studying in The USA enriches discussions with multiple perspectives and the understanding of how messages are received by various audiences across the globe.

The following tables gives the 10 top universities in the USA for Communication & Media Studies, according to global and local university rankings. It can show you which American universities are amongst the best in the world - and help you compare institutions on an international level.

This information is based on the latest rankings tables, researched and published by Times Higher Education, QS and Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

Each ranking system uses its own methodology, with different factors having more or less influence on a university's result.

If you're wondering how these rankings affect your decision, our guide has more information on how to use international rankings as a postgraduate.

The Times Higher Education rankings are strong in academic focus and diverse teaching metrics, but do not include employer-specific metrics. Additionally, the rankings may not include all specialist institutions.

The QS World University Rankings are designed to meet the needs of prospective students, with more weight given to student-centric metrics such as staff/student ratio, international recruitment and employer opinion. The rankings are balanced between qualitative and quantitative data, but give less weight to research than some other rankings.

The ARWU rankings reflect the presence of elite academics and the future academic success of graduates. However, they do not directly assess the quality of education at a university or take into account other aspects of university performance.