27 Best Journalism and Digital Media schools in California, US

Updated: July 18, 2023

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in California ranked based on their research performance in Journalism and Digital Media. A graph of 106M citations received by 2.57M academic papers made by 27 universities in California was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. Stanford University

Stanford

For Journalism and Digital Media

#1 in the United States

#1 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1520
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $14,402

2. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Journalism and Digital Media

#16 in the United States

#16 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 14%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $21,406
Enrollment: 45,036

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Journalism and Digital Media

#17 in the United States

#17 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Average SAT: 1475
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $26,021

4. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Journalism and Digital Media

#21 in the United States

#22 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 11%
Receiving Aid: 56%
Average Aid: $17,592
Enrollment: 46,116

5. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Journalism and Digital Media

#28 in the United States

#29 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 29%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $16,868
Enrollment: 36,505

6. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Journalism and Digital Media

#30 in the United States

#31 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 29%
Receiving Aid: 58%
Average Aid: $18,107
Enrollment: 26,124

7. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Journalism and Digital Media

#36 in the United States

#39 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Receiving Aid: 54%
Average Aid: $18,083
Enrollment: 41,885

8. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Journalism and Digital Media

#52 in the United States

#56 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Net Price: $30,162
Receiving Aid: 67%
Average Aid: $47,556

9. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Journalism and Digital Media

#54 in the United States

#59 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 49%
Receiving Aid: 65%
Average Aid: $17,628
Enrollment: 40,050

10. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Journalism and Digital Media

#70 in the United States

#76 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 18%
Enrollment: 3,165
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1864

11. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Journalism and Digital Media

#74 in the United States

#80 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 65%
Receiving Aid: 82%
Average Aid: $18,676
Enrollment: 26,847

12. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Journalism and Digital Media

#108 in the United States

#121 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 38%
Receiving Aid: 58%
Average Aid: $9,026
Enrollment: 36,484

13. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Journalism and Digital Media

#125 in the United States

#143 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 84%
Receiving Aid: 69%
Average Aid: $9,184
Enrollment: 37,133

14. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Journalism and Digital Media

#160 in the United States

#183 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 59%
Receiving Aid: 63%
Average Aid: $19,199
Enrollment: 19,841

15. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Journalism and Digital Media

#189 in the United States

#214 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 59%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $9,215
Enrollment: 40,738

16. Chapman University

Orange

For Journalism and Digital Media

#209 in the United States

#239 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Average SAT: 1310
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $40,451

17. Claremont Graduate University

Claremont

For Journalism and Digital Media

#212 in the United States

#242 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 35%
Enrollment: 1,953
Male:Female: 40:60
Founded: 1925

18. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Journalism and Digital Media

#215 in the United States

#246 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 47%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,433
Enrollment: 40,190

19. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Journalism and Digital Media

#216 in the United States

#248 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Average SAT: 1290
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $39,825

20. Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles

For Journalism and Digital Media

#231 in the United States

#263 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 46%
Average SAT: 1335
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $40,180

21. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Journalism and Digital Media

#232 in the United States

#264 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 54%
Average SAT: 1410
Average ACT: 32
Net Price: $48,469

22. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Journalism and Digital Media

#236 in the United States

#268 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 88%
Receiving Aid: 85%
Average Aid: $10,882
Enrollment: 40,108

23. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Journalism and Digital Media

#243 in the United States

#275 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 77%
Average Aid: $9,586
Enrollment: 26,899

24. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Journalism and Digital Media

#247 in the United States

#279 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 61%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,025
Enrollment: 29,456

25. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Journalism and Digital Media

#267 in the United States

#300 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 53%
Net Price: $34,155
Receiving Aid: 84%
Average Aid: $34,413

26. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Journalism and Digital Media

#286 in the United States

#320 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 33%
Receiving Aid: 65%
Average Aid: $5,988
Enrollment: 22,231

27. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Journalism and Digital Media

#298 in the United States

#332 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 97%
Receiving Aid: 85%
Average Aid: $10,314
Enrollment: 25,047

Closest to California states to learn Journalism and Digital Media

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	4	91
Utah	3	58
Arizona	3	3
Idaho	3	198
Washington	4	7
Colorado	4	40
Nebraska	4	100
Kansas	3	50
Texas	25	6
Oklahoma	3	95
North Dakota	3	148
Minnesota	2	19
Iowa	3	49
Missouri	7	43
Arkansas	4	166
Louisiana	3	87
Wisconsin	4	14
Illinois	13	8
Mississippi	3	127
Indiana	6	35
Michigan	8	2
Tennessee	6	66
Alabama	5	53
Kentucky	5	38
Ohio	11	23
Georgia	8	31
South Carolina	5	42
North Carolina	11	27
Virginia	9	51
Pennsylvania	12	4
Florida	12	24
District of Columbia	5	45
Maryland	7	13
New York	23	11
New Jersey	8	32
Connecticut	2	29
Massachusetts	17	9
Rhode Island	3	130