Top 5 Colleges for Communications Degree Programs

With a plethora of colleges offering communications courses and degrees, we've listed our top picks below in alphabetical order.

1. Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, IL, a town in the suburbs of Chicago. It offers communications degrees through its School of Communication.

Undergraduate students can major in communication studies. This program blends theory and practice to teach students how to evaluate and produce communicative media. Courses include:

• Introduction to Strategic Communication
• Persuasive Images: Rhetoric of Popular Culture
• Theories of Relational Communication
• Understanding Media Markets: Users, Makers and Metrics

A Master of Science in Communications is also available. This program is offered on campus and online and can be completed in as little as one year. It offers courses like:

• Foundations of Strategic Communication
• Leading and Leveraging Networks
• Persuasive Message Design
• Using Data to Make Informed Decisions

Students who want to continue their education can earn a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Rhetoric, Media, and Publics, previously called communication studies.

This program focuses on the many ways humans constitute individual and group identities, influence others, and generate, maintain, and challenge communities and cultures.

2. University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a two-hundred-year-old public research university based in Ann Arbor, MI. Its College of Literature, Science, and the Arts includes a Communication and Media department.

Through this department, undergraduate students can major in communication and media. It includes courses such as:

• Cross-Disciplinary Advertising: From Sports Marketing to Branded Entertainment
• Designing Persuasive Communication
• Principles of Strategic Integrated Marketing Communications
• Strategic Communication in Healthcare Organizations

At the graduate level, students can earn a PhD in communication and media. This is a five-year program with two major research areas: social scientific analysis of mass media effects and media, culture, and society.

The program requires a minimum of 15 courses as well as a first-year research project, two terms of teaching experience, and a dissertation.

3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university in Chapel Hill, NC. It's the flagship university of the University of North Carolina system.

Through its College of Arts and Sciences, students can earn a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. It offers four concentrations:

• Interpersonal and Organizational Communication
• Media and Technology Studies and Media Production
• Performance Studies
• Rhetorical Studies

A specialized concentration is also available. All students must take at least 30 credit hours in the department, including three core courses and four concentration courses.

At the graduate level, students can earn a PhD in communication. Students are required to take the following four courses:

• Introduction to Research and Theory in Communication Studies
• Communication and the Social
• Communication and Discourse
• Communication and the Political

Students will also need to take ten research courses, two professional development courses, and complete a dissertation.

4. University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private research university in Los Angeles, CA. It offers communication degrees through its Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

The Bachelor of Arts in Communication helps students understand how messages are informed, created, distributed, and consumed. It includes courses such as:

• Argumentation and Advocacy
• Communication and Social Science
• Contours of Change in Media and Communication
• Empirical Research in Communication

Multiple master's degrees are available through the school. These include:

• Master of Science in Communication Data Science
• Master of Communication Management
• Master of Arts in Global Media and Communication
• Master of Public Diplomacy

Additionally, students can earn a PhD in communication, which provides them with cutting-edge theory and research methodologies in communication.

5. University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a public research university in Austin, TX. It's the flagship university of the University of Texas system and offers communications degrees through its Moody College of Communication.

The Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies offers three tracks: corporate communication, interpersonal communication, and political communication.

All tracks offer the same core courses, including:

• Advanced Analysis of Popular Culture
• Communicating to Build Sales Relationships
• Social Interaction and Virtual Environments
• Using Communication Technology at Work

The graduate program within the college offers both a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in communication studies. Graduate courses include:

• Communication, Power, and Inequality
• Decolonizing Communication
• Nonverbal Communication
• Rhetoric and Democracy

The master's program typically takes two years to complete, while the Ph.D. usually takes about four.