Communication and Journalism colleges in California, ranked by graduates
45 colleges in California awarded at least 10 bachelor's degrees in communication and journalism in 2023: 8,174 degrees, 4.7% of all bachelor's degrees at those colleges (4.3% across every college CollegeCalcAI tracks). Cal State Fullerton graduated the most (747, 7.9% of its class). 25 of the 45 are public universities. The median acceptance rate among them is 75%; the most selective is Stanford University at 4%.
Communication and Journalism colleges in California
Every California college awarding at least 10 bachelor's degrees in communication and journalism, ranked by 2023 graduates. Click a college for its communication and journalism page.
| # | College | Type | Degrees (2023) | Share of grads | Acceptance rate | SAT 75th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cal State Fullerton | Public | 747 | 7.9% | 91% | 1230 |
| 2 | Cal State Northridge | Public | 736 | 9% | 93% | 1150 |
| 3 | UC Santa Barbara | Public | 597 | 9.3% | 33% | 1430 |
| 4 | San Diego State University | Public | 540 | 6.3% | 36% | 1340 |
| 5 | Cal State Long Beach | Public | 484 | 5.5% | 46% | 1280 |
| 6 | University of Southern California | Private | 396 | 6.9% | 10% | 1530 |
| 7 | Sacramento State University | Public | 395 | 5.2% | 94% | 1170 |
| 8 | San Francisco State University | Public | 344 | 6.8% | 96% | 1180 |
| 9 | Cal State Los Angeles | Public | 334 | 6.3% | 91% | 1150 |
| 10 | San Jose State University | Public | 322 | 5.1% | 85% | 1220 |
| 11 | UC Davis | Public | 258 | 3.2% | 42% | 1380 |
| 12 | UCLA | Public | 228 | 2.4% | 9% | 1510 |
| 13 | University of California, Berkeley | Public | 226 | 2.5% | 11% | 1530 |
| 14 | UC San Diego | Public | 220 | 2.5% | 27% | 1490 |
| 15 | Cal State San Marcos | Public | 179 | 5.4% | 95% | 1190 |
| 16 | Cal Poly San Luis Obispo | Public | 171 | 3.4% | 31% | 1420 |
| 17 | Fresno State University | Public | 156 | 3% | 95% | 1160 |
| 18 | Chapman University | Private | 148 | 8.1% | 65% | 1380 |
| 19 | Loyola Marymount University | Private | 133 | 7.9% | 45% | 1370 |
| 20 | Cal State Chico | Public | 133 | 4.1% | 93% | 1170 |
| 21 | Cal State San Bernardino | Public | 133 | 3.1% | 94% | 1090 |
| 22 | Cal Poly Pomona | Public | 132 | 2.3% | 75% | 1300 |
| 23 | Pepperdine University | Private | 104 | 12.5% | 63% | 1400 |
| 24 | Santa Clara University | Private | 104 | 7.8% | 48% | 1430 |
| 25 | Cal State Dominguez Hills | Public | 95 | 3% | 93% | 1020 |
| 26 | Cal State East Bay | Public | 92 | 2.9% | 97% | 1080 |
| 27 | University of San Francisco | Private | 89 | 6.8% | 62% | 1340 |
| 28 | University of San Diego | Private | 73 | 5.7% | 52% | 1360 |
| 29 | Cal State Stanislaus | Public | 72 | 2.9% | 98% | 1080 |
| 30 | California Lutheran University | Private | 61 | 9.6% | 76% | 1230 |
| 31 | Saint Mary's College of California | Private | 50 | 7.4% | 87% | 1290 |
| 32 | Point Loma Nazarene University | Private | 46 | 5.8% | 84% | 1290 |
| 33 | California Baptist University | Private | 45 | 2.4% | 85% | 1170 |
| 34 | University of the Pacific | Private | 38 | 4.8% | 71% | 1300 |
| 35 | Cal Poly Humboldt | Public | 38 | 2.9% | 98% | 1150 |
| 36 | Biola University | Private | 36 | 4.7% | 74% | 1260 |
| 37 | UC Irvine | Public | 33 | 0.4% | 29% | 1420 |
| 38 | Cal State Monterey Bay | Public | 32 | 1.8% | 97% | 1130 |
| 39 | Vanguard University | Private | 32 | 6.4% | 62% | 1150 |
| 40 | Masters University | Private | 31 | 9.5% | 84% | 1120 |
| 41 | Azusa Pacific University | Private | 27 | 2.3% | 88% | 1200 |
| 42 | Westmont College | Private | 23 | 7.1% | 77% | 1150 |
| 43 | Stanford University | Private | 19 | 1% | 4% | 1570 |
| 44 | Pomona College | Private | 12 | 2.7% | 7% | 1540 |
| 45 | Concordia University Irvine | Private | 10 | 2.4% | 66% | 1150 |
Questions about communication and journalism colleges in California
What is the best college for communication and journalism in California?
By bachelor's degrees awarded in 2023, the largest communication and journalism programs in California are Cal State Fullerton (747), Cal State Northridge (736), UC Santa Barbara (597). "Best" depends on your profile: this page ranks every California college in the field by output and shows each one's acceptance rate and admitted SAT so you can match it to your own numbers.
How many colleges in California offer communication and journalism?
45 four-year colleges in California awarded 10 or more bachelor's degrees in communication and journalism in 2023, 25 public and 20 private, for 8,174 graduates in total.
Is in-state status an advantage for communication and journalism in California?
At the 25 public universities on this list, California residents are usually admitted at a higher rate than out-of-state applicants and pay in-state tuition. CollegeCalcAI applies the residency effect when you set your home state, and the per-major adjustment when you set the major.
Communication and Journalism elsewhere
The same field in other states, and the national ranking.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS 2023 Completions (bachelor's degrees, first majors, CIP 2-digit series), joined to CollegeCalcAI's admissions dataset. Built 2026-09-19. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are not predictions or guarantees.