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Best Colleges for Journalism

50 Journalism programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

⚡Quick answer

For Journalism, University of Southern California (California) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $79,776. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$79,776	$15,000	92	95.1
2	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$73,747	$13,654	45	91
3	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$81,935	$19,500	30	89.3
4	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$80,258	$14,834	0	87.8
5	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	Master's Degree	$77,057	$20,877	45	87.2
6	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	Bachelor's Degree	$75,967	$21,500	196	86.9
7	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	Bachelor's Degree	$71,466	$15,500	27	86.5
8	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	Master's Degree	$84,165	$22,010	38	86.5
9	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$70,829	$19,500	58	85.9
10	Boston University Boston, MA	Master's Degree	$82,549	—	38	85.1
11	Elon University Elon, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$69,964	$18,000	33	85
12	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$67,878	$17,250	42	84.6
13	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	Bachelor's Degree	$69,016	$21,000	390	84.3
14	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	Bachelor's Degree	$66,799	$19,500	111	83.6
15	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	Bachelor's Degree	$64,224	$18,340	158	83.3
16	Georgetown University Washington, DC	Master's Degree	$90,356	—	17	83.1
17	Chapman University Orange, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$79,135	$22,290	25	82
18	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	Bachelor's Degree	$68,128	$21,500	142	81.7
19	George Washington University Washington, DC	Bachelor's Degree	$81,927	$25,000	69	81.5
20	George Washington University Washington, DC	Master's Degree	$89,072	—	5	80.9
21	University of Georgia Athens, GA	Master's Degree	$70,926	$22,394	53	80.6
22	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$67,539	$21,000	58	80.4
23	Maine College of Art & Design Portland, ME	Graduate/Professional Certificate	$63,479	$17,470	36	79.6
24	California State University-Chico Chico, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$63,358	$18,618	44	79.5
25	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR	Bachelor's Degree	$66,087	$21,500	124	79.2
26	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$79,742	—	10	78.9
27	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE	Master's Degree	$73,130	—	28	78.8
28	Northeastern University Boston, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$74,709	$24,005	31	77.7
29	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA	Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma	$63,138	$20,500	55	76.8
30	Utah State University Logan, UT	Bachelor's Degree	$61,724	$16,932	61	76.8
31	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$61,145	$17,250	147	76.7
32	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Master's Degree	$76,747	—	0	76.6
33	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	Master's Degree	$78,880	$69,000	380	76.5
34	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY	Master's Degree	$74,266	—	9	76.1
35	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$69,181	—	27	75.9
36	St Bonaventure University Saint Bonaventure, NY	Master's Degree	$82,191	$27,582	29	75.8
37	CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY	Master's Degree	$74,415	—	0	75.5
38	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Master's Degree	$76,630	$48,232	88	74.8
39	University of Georgia Athens, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$60,729	$19,500	153	73.9
40	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH	Master's Degree	$83,464	$27,036	13	73.9
41	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$65,535	$23,375	55	73.5
42	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$70,404	$27,000	123	73.5
43	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	Bachelor's Degree	$62,394	$22,000	217	73.2
44	Fordham University Bronx, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$72,475	$26,324	33	73.1
45	Baylor University Waco, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$63,622	$23,525	67	72.9
46	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	Bachelor's Degree	$60,887	$18,810	53	72.8
47	Boston University Boston, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$65,617	$24,500	110	72.8
48	Emerson College Boston, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$63,337	$23,610	108	72.6
49	American University Washington, DC	Bachelor's Degree	$66,635	$24,976	59	72.5
50	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	Master's Degree	$66,011	—	25	72.5

🔍 Filter Journalism by state & degree level →

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Hidden Gems for Journalism

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Journalism — the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	Elon University Elon, NC Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$69,964	66%	85
2	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$67,878	63%	84.6
3	Chapman University Orange, CA Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$79,135	65%	82
4	Maine College of Art & Design Portland, ME Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$63,479	76%	79.6
5	California State University-Chico Chico, CA Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$63,358	93%	79.5
6	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$73,130	87%	78.8
7	Utah State University Logan, UT Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$61,724	92%	76.8
8	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$74,266	68%	76.1
9	St Bonaventure University Saint Bonaventure, NY Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$82,191	82%	75.8
10	CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$74,415	68%	75.5
11	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$83,464	86%	73.9
12	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS Strong Journalism outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$62,394	93%	73.2

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0–100 within the Journalism field (CIP 09.04) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Journalism programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Journalism program?+

By our outcome score, University of Southern California (California) ranks #1 for Journalism, with median graduate earnings of $79,776.

How are these Journalism programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Journalism programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

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Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.