The Best Colleges for Communications ranking is based on rigorous analysis of academic, admissions, financial, and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education along with millions of reviews from students and alumni. Learn where our data comes from.
| Factor | Description | Source | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Niche Grade | Overall Niche Grade, which incorporates statistics and student surveys regarding all aspects of the student experience, such as academics, value, professors, diversity, local area, campus quality, safety and student life. | Multiple Sources | 36.8% |
| Percent Majoring in Communications | Percent of undergraduate students at each school who major in Communications. | U.S. Dept. of Education | 19.1% |
| Communications Program Demand | A ratio of the number of Niche users interested in the Communications program compared to the size of the program. | Self-reported by Niche users | 13.5% |
| Communications Student Surveys | Niche survey responses scored on a 1-5 scale regarding the overall experience of students and alumni who major in Communications. | Self-reported by Niche users | 10.5% |
| Communications Research Expenditures per Student | Total expenditures dedicated to Communications research per full-time undergraduate student majoring in the field. | National Science Foundation | 7.7% |
| Percent of U.S. Communications Graduates | Percent of total annual Communications graduates nationally that come from this program. | U.S. Dept. of Education | 7.7% |
| Communications Research Expenditures | Total expenditures dedicated to research in Communications. | National Science Foundation | 4.7% |
To be included, the school must confer at least 5 bachelor’s degrees in the field annually or have the major represent at least 20% of all bachelor’s degrees conferred by the school. Statistics obtained from the U.S. Department of Education represent the most recent data available, as self-reported by the colleges.
For more details about how we calculate our rankings, click here. If you work for a school and would like to update your data, please claim your school.