Communication and Media Studies Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Communication and Media Studies maps to BLS occupations averaging about $93,508, with roughly 1,528,950 workers nationwide in those roles. About 9,658 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median program completion runs near 58%.
Key Statistics
Communication and Media Studies: what the data shows
Common questions about communication and media studies degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a communication and media studies degree?
A Communication and Media Studies program is classified under NCES CIP 09.0100 in the Communication and Media Studies field family (09.01).
A program that focuses on the comprehensive study of communication, and that spans the study of mass communication/media studies, old and new media technologies, social and political applications, and speech communication and rhetoric. Includes instruction in interpersonal, group, organizational, and intercultural communication; theories of communication; critical thinking, argumentation, and persuasion; written communication; printed, electronic, and digital media; rhetorical tradition and criticism; media, society, and culture; consequences and effects of mass media; media social science and criticism; and quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry
IPEDS counted 9,658 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of communication and media studies degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 09.01 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Communication, General (CIP 09.0100)
- Communications (CIP 09.0101)
- Mass Communication/Media Studies (CIP 09.0102)
How long does it take to get a communication and media studies degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 09.0100 in our file:
- 405 Associate (3.8% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 9,658 Bachelor's (90.0% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 665 Master's (6.2% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 3 Doctorate (0.0% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in communication and media studies?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Sales & Office Occupations (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 09.0100, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a communication and media studies degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Communication and Media Studies to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Sales & Office Occupations | 1,441,580 | — |
| Marketing Managers | 384,980 | $161,030 |
| Public Relations Specialists | 280,590 | $69,780 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a communication and media studies degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Communication and Media Studies bachelor's program family: median debt $28,481, median earnings $56,359 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.82.
About 4.6% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $7,540 and median net price is $17,622.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Communication and Media Studies and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$7,540 Median In-State Public
$36,030 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Communication and Media Studies majors are, on average, $7,540 for in-state public colleges, and $36,030 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Communication and Media Studies programs.
Institutions awarding the most Communication and Media Studies degrees
| # | Institution | State | Completions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California-Santa Barbara | CA | 649 |
| 2 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 648 |
| 3 | University of California-Davis | CA | 301 |
| 4 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | MA | 295 |
| 5 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | TX | 286 |
| 6 | University of California-Los Angeles | CA | 270 |
| 7 | University of Utah | UT | 261 |
| 8 | University of California-San Diego | CA | 252 |
| 9 | The University of Texas at Arlington | TX | 251 |
| 10 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 249 |
IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), all award levels for this CIP in our extract.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
N/A Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Communication and Media Studies from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Communication and Media Studies.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 76,996 |
| 2 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 68,619 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,398 |
| 4 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,099 |
| 5 | University of Central Florida | FL | 59,095 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Communication and Media Studies programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haskell Indian Nations University | KS | $600 |
| 2 | Copper Mountain Community College | CA | $1,114 |
| 3 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 4 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 5 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,126 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Communication and Media Studies programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $10 |
| 2 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $29 |
| 3 | Coahoma Community College | MS | $560 |
| 4 | Henry Ford College | MI | $576 |
| 5 | Oxnard College | CA | $659 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Communication and Media Studies programs.
Graduation Rates
58.49% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
59.39% Average Graduation Rate
95 Institutions Reporting
48.47% - 70.60% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Communication and Media Studies programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Communication and Media Studies is in CA (1,724 completions). That state represents about 17.9% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is ID (0.60% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 1,724 | 17.9% | 0.38% |
| TX | 1,642 | 17.0% | 0.56% |
| NY | 769 | 8.0% | 0.28% |
| MA | 531 | 5.5% | 0.42% |
| IL | 435 | 4.5% | 0.31% |
| PA | 357 | 3.7% | 0.21% |
| FL | 356 | 3.7% | 0.15% |
| UT | 336 | 3.5% | 0.31% |
| VA | 295 | 3.0% | 0.24% |
| NC | 266 | 2.8% | 0.21% |
| WI | 259 | 2.7% | 0.34% |
| AZ | 255 | 2.6% | 0.18% |
| OH | 254 | 2.6% | 0.18% |
| MN | 177 | 1.8% | 0.21% |
| ID | 170 | 1.8% | 0.60% |
| TN | 155 | 1.6% | 0.21% |
| MO | 143 | 1.5% | 0.20% |
| CO | 140 | 1.4% | 0.20% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 09.01 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Communication, General CIP 09.0100
- Communications CIP 09.0101
- Mass Communication/Media Studies CIP 09.0102
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 09.0100 in the survey year used in our extract (10,731 total across levels below).
- 405 Associate (3.8% of IPEDS total)
- 9,658 Bachelor's (90.0% of IPEDS total)
- 665 Master's (6.2% of IPEDS total)
- 3 Doctorate (0.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $93,508. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Communication and Media Studies graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Sales & Office Occupations | $62,097 | 1,441,580 |
| Marketing Managers | $209,972 | 384,980 |
| Public Relations Specialists | $95,096 | 280,590 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Communication and Media Studies CIP family (285 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Communication and Media Studies graduate.
- $28,481 median federal loan debt among completers
- $56,359 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.82 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 4.6% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$68,213 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Communication and Media Studies majors is $68,213.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Communication and Media Studies majors.
Occupations by Share
1,528,950 2023 Workforce
The number of Communication and Media Studies graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Communication and Media Studies by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Communication and Media Studies in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Communication and Media Studies.
Age distribution for Communication and Media Studies degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
9,658 Total Degrees Awarded
3,313 Male (34.30%)
6,345 Female (65.70%)
Gender distribution of Communication and Media Studies degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
5,124 White (53.05%)
1,784 Hispanic or Latino (18.47%)
980 Black or African American (10.15%)
539 Asian (5.58%)
501 Two or More Races (5.19%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Communication and Media Studies degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Communication and Media Studies are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Communication and Media Studies.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Communication and Media Studies field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Communication and Media Studies majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Communication and Media Studies majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Communication and Media Studies majors.
About
A program that focuses on the comprehensive study of communication, and that spans the study of mass communication/media studies, old and new media technologies, social and political applications, and speech communication and rhetoric. Includes instruction in interpersonal, group, organizational, and intercultural communication; theories of communication; critical thinking, argumentation, and persuasion; written communication; printed, electronic, and digital media; rhetorical tradition and criticism; media, society, and culture; consequences and effects of mass media; media social science and criticism; and quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry
In 2023, N/A degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Communication and Media Studies.
CIP Code
09.0100 - Communication and Media Studies
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $28,481 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $56,359, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.82. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Communication and Media Studies graduate.
Women earned 66.2% of 11,299 Communication and Media Studies completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $93,508. The largest mapped role by headcount is Sales & Office Occupations (1,441,580 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $7,540 in-state at public colleges and $36,030 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.