Top 10 Colleges for Communications Majors

If you are fascinated by how the world works and interested in becoming part of the solution to its problems, studying Communication might just be for you. As a Communication student, you will develop and master skills in both speaking and writing, which will ultimately prepare them for any job. Communication is a broad enough major to provide opportunity in fields such as journalism, public relations, broadcasting, politics, public policy, and business administration, among others. Classes required for a degree in Communications will teach you to think both critically and analytically within society. Here is a list of the top ten universities in America for a Communication major!

1. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California)

A great communications program is offered at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. You will be exposed to all aspects of communicative studies, from the fundamentals to the newest advances. The goals of this program are to allow you to understand the major theories of communication, recognize the social scientific approach, as well as the cultural approach to communication, interpret the consequences of mass media, and become proficient in oral, written, and virtual communication. The requirements for this major include twenty-four units of core courses and twenty-four units of elective courses in communication, which include the chance to focus in specific areas of study. Personally, I am a freshman enrolled in this program at USC and have loved the communications classes I have taken thus far.

2. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

UPenn’s Communication classes are offered at the Annenberg School for Communication, but the College of Arts and Science grants the Bachelor of Arts Degree with a Communication major. Its communication courses intersect with history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, law, and economics. The major requires thirty-four course units, which must include at least fourteen courses in the Communication major.  

3. Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois)

The Communication Studies major, taught at Northwestern’s School of Communication, focuses on analyzing organizational, cultural, and interpersonal communication in the mass media. Individual areas of study offered include leadership, media and technology studies, and rhetoric and public culture. Requirements for the Communication Studies major are fourteen courses in the School of Communication, and the distribution requirements are eighteen courses outside of the department.  

4. Stanford University (Stanford, California)

The Department of Communication at Stanford helps to foster skills in one-on-one interviewing, multimedia storytelling, survey research, quantitative social analysis, and the ability to write clearly and effectively. Requirements for the Communication major include five core courses, at least four courses in Communication Processes and Effects and Communication Systems & Institutions with at least one course in each area, and elective communication courses, or a combination of communication courses and up to ten units of pre-approved courses in other departments, to fulfill the remainder of sixty units.

5. American University (Washington, D.C.)

AU’s Communication department is within its School of Communication. A Communication Studies major at American University is liberal arts-oriented and intersects with the school’s Journalism, Public Communication, and Film Media Arts courses. The program is meant to create a deeper understanding of the political, social, cultural, global, and historical elements of different disciplines of communication. Not including General Education requirements, a Communication Studies major requires between thirty-six and forty credit hours, with at least a C, at the School of Communication, including core, media ethics and legal aspects, concentration, and media studies courses.

6. Cornell University (Ithaca, New York)

Cornell’s Communication department incorporates science, media, and technology within the Communication major in order to analyze the changes constantly taking place in communications. This program is quite flexible, made to fit the individual student’s needs and interests. Course requirements include fifteen core courses, six credits of Focus Area Introductory Courses, six credits of Focus Area Upper Level Courses, nine credits of Upper-Level Electives, three credits of Communication Practica, and twelve credits of Outside Concentration courses.

7. Emerson College (Boston, Massachusetts)

The Communication Studies department was Emerson University’s very first department, founded in 1884. The program emphasizes immersion in local, national, and global projects through classes, internships, and co-curricular organizations. Students in this program also have the opportunity to work in Barcelona, Mexico, Chile, and within Boston. Along with general requirements, Communication Studies students must complete twenty credits from Rhetoric and Argumentation courses, twenty credits from Culture and Performance courses, and twenty credits from Negotiation and DIalogue courses.

8. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)

UNC at Chapel Hill’s Department of Communication focuses on the making and transformation of personal life, social relations, political institutions, economic organizations, and cultural norms. Course requirements are three among COMM 120, 140, 160, and 170, four COMM courses in a concentration, three COMM electives, a minimum of 10 COMM courses total, and three COMM courses must be 400 level or higher.

9. Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)

The Department of Communication concentrates on all forms of communication, with advances in communication science, rhetorical studies, and media studies. Wake Forest requires thirty hours of communication credit, at least twelve of which at the 300-level, and at least a 2.0 grade point average in all communication courses.

10. New York University (New York City, New York)

NYU has a Department of Media, Culture, and Communication within its Steinhardt School. The Bachelor of Science degree in this area is based in the liberal arts, as it requires students to come to understand the sociological, political, and cultural elements of media. One hundred and twenty-eight credits must be taken to graduate, including twelve MCC Core credits, twelve credits in specific Fields of Study, twelve credits in Restricted electives, and four additional requirement credits, as well as a total of seventy-six credits taken in required Liberal Arts courses.

If a Communication major interests you, I suggest looking into all of these schools when applying to colleges! Check out their department websites to learn even more about course requirements, including specific classes required for a degree in Communication.