Nowadays, there are as many media jobs as there are companies. Media is a field that many people want to enter, and the opportunities are definitely out there. Every business wants to get ahead on social media, and that's just one small area of the communications industry. Therefore, a person who's savvy with their media and video production skills can make the world their oyster. If you're the kind of person who's looking for a career in this exciting, ever-changing industry, then that's understandable. However, there is a big challenge facing you before you can enter this exciting world.
A huge industry means many degree options. With literally thousands of courses out there, a prospective student looking for the best media education opportunities needs to make a smart choice. They need to pick a degree that will train them up in the right way. But what is the right way? The answer is different for every single person. Most media platforms are still very young industries. That means that there aren't thousands of years of teaching practices to draw from. Every college has its own approach. And some are definitely more effective than others.
The web is filled with many conflicting accounts of what it means to be a good media college. Some are definitely true, but others don't bear close scrutiny. So which ones are right? This article exists to dispense with the myths and tell you the facts. We've researched what the best media colleges in the US are by analyzing what makes them so good. Below, we've listed these. And even if you can't get into the colleges below, you can still take their practices, draw inspiration and look for something similar in your media college choices.
MethodologyOur sources comprise of a mix of professional assessments and successful media student alumni stating what's best. We've looked at sites that have spent considerable time analyzing the US media college options and applied rigorous metrics on the quality of the degrees offered. Some sources factor in employment rates and college engagement with global media institutions, while others are comprised of student and parent-led reviews. Out of the hundreds of articles online, these give the best impression of the top media colleges but for different reasons:
2018 Best Communication & Media Studies Colleges in the U.S.: https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/communication-journalism-media/communication-media-studies/rankings/top-ranked/
2018 Best Colleges for Communications: https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges-for-communications/
People who work in media say these are the top 25 colleges in America: https://www.businessinsider.com/best-colleges-according-to-media-professionals-2015-8
Communications & Media Studies: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2017/communication-media-studies
The Top 10 Colleges for Communications Majors: https://www.collegemagazine.com/top-10-colleges-communications-major/
We've collated these lists, checked the top performers with supporting materials on the colleges' websites and considered other data, like graduate employment and awards, into our rankings. Every college listed below is a shining example of how to teach media in a way that gets students into their dream jobs and into creating great content.
Results below:
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