2025 Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree Schools

a doctor's degree in communication & media studies is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #136 out of 862 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 10 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 153 doctor's degrees in communication & media studies to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School for Your Doctor's Degree

The media studies doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on communication & media studies students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of communication & media studies students who choose to seek a doctor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized communication & media studies related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for communication & media studies students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The media studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree Schools.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Communication & Media Studies in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in communication & media studies.

10 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Media Studies

1

Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

6 Annual Graduates

Michigan State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in communication & media studies. Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the city of East Lansing.More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from Michigan State University

2

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

12 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

3

University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

11 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat University of Wisconsin - Madison if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in communication & media studies. UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison.More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from University of Wisconsin - Madison

4

University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

11 Annual Graduates

University of Colorado Boulder is a good choice for individuals pursuing a doctor's degree in communication & media studies. Located in the medium-sized city of Boulder, CU - Boulder is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from University of Colorado Boulder

5

University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

6 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Lawrence, KU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from University of Kansas

6

University of Florida
Gainesville, FL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

11 Annual Graduates

UF is a very large public university located in the city of Gainesville.More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from University of Florida

7

University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
Norman, OK

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

4 Annual Graduates

University of Oklahoma is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Norman.More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

8

Indiana University - Bloomington
Bloomington, IN

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

9 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from Indiana University - Bloomington

9

University of Oregon
Eugene, OR

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

12 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Eugene, UO is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from University of Oregon

10

Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

10 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from Texas Tech University

Communication & Media Studies by Region

View the Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Media Studies

One of 3 majors within the Communication & Media Studies area of study, Communication & Media Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Speech Communication	314
Other Communication & Media Studies	60
Communications	46

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to UNU-WIDER from Helsinki, Finland. More about our data sources and methodologies.