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Journalism

Students study news reporting, investigative research, media ethics, multimedia storytelling, and the principles of informing the public through print, broadcast, and digital platforms. Graduates typically pursue careers as reporters, editors, broadcast journalists, podcast producers, and content strategists for news organizations and media companies. The shift to digital media has created new opportunities in data journalism, newsletter publishing, and multimedia storytelling.

Schools
178
Programs analyzed
Earnings
$34,417
Avg 1-yr grad earnings
Range $18,301–$52,015
AI Risk
Very High
61% task exposure
Field Overview

What Journalism graduates do

Your journalism degree prepares you for a world of communication, but the day-to-day work varies significantly. As a writer or author, you'll spend most of your time researching, interviewing sources, and meticulously crafting prose for articles, books, or web content. In an editor role, you're the quality control, spending your day reviewing submissions, fact-checking details, and shaping raw copy into polished final products. For those chasing the story as a reporter, your work is a fast-paced cycle of finding leads, conducting interviews on tight deadlines, and verifying every fact before publication.

Career progression often starts with entry-level reporting or copy-editing roles, leading to senior positions like a section editor or a specialized columnist. While opportunities for writers and film editors are growing modestly, traditional newsroom and broadcast roles face significant headwinds. The biggest challenge, however, is AI. With extremely high exposure across core jobs, AI is fundamentally reshaping this field. It now handles much of the drafting and copy-editing that junior staff once did, shrinking entry-level opportunities. Your value will not be in producing raw content, but in directing AI, exercising sharp editorial judgment, and conducting original, on-the-ground reporting that algorithms cannot replicate.

You may also want to evaluate Journalism against Communication & Journalism (Other), Rhetoric & Writing, and Communication & Media on salary and long-run job outlook.

Career Trajectories

Where Journalism graduates work

Common career paths for Journalism graduates, with median salaries, projected growth, and AI exposure per role. Roughly 50,500 combined openings per year across these roles.

Role Median Pay Annual Openings 10-yr Growth AI Exposure
Communications teachers, postsecondary
$77,800
$60K–$103K
2,700 +2.1% Moderate · 43%
Editors
$75,260
$50K–$101K
9,800 +0.6% High · 65%
Writers and authors
$72,270
$53K–$98K
13,400 +3.6% Very High · 89%
Film and video editors
$70,980
$50K–$102K
3,600 +4.0% High · 53%
News analysts, reporters, and journalists
$60,280
$40K–$97K
4,100 -3.9% High · 65%
Proofreaders and copy markers
$49,210
$39K–$62K
1,900 -0.6% Very High · 98%
Broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys
$45,680
$33K–$72K
2,300 -5.5% High · 65%
Photographers
$42,520
$35K–$62K
12,700 +1.8% Moderate · 39%
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).
Top Institutions

Best schools for Journalism

Schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score (earnings × AI resilience × ROI × job-market size). Top 10 of 178.

Rank #1 · DegreeOutlook Score 56
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA · Public
$48,637 1-yr earnings
14.3x ROI multiple
Very High AI risk
# School DW Score 1-yr Earnings ROI
5 University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO · Public
50 $43,958 11.0x
6 University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS · Public
50 $43,191 12.3x
7 Ohio University-Eastern Campus
Saint Clairsville, OH · Public
50 $38,246 22.9x
8 Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus
Chillicothe, OH · Public
50 $38,246 22.9x
9 Ohio University-Southern Campus
Ironton, OH · Public
50 $38,246 22.9x
10 Ohio University-Lancaster Campus
Lancaster, OH · Public
50 $38,246 22.9x
11 Ohio University-Zanesville Campus
Zanesville, OH · Public
50 $38,246 22.9x
12 University of Florida
Gainesville, FL · Public
50 $38,164 21.9x
13 Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ · Public
49 $42,605 12.0x
14 Indiana University-Bloomington
Bloomington, IN · Public
49 $39,992 13.0x
15 Utah State University
Logan, UT · Public
48 $41,431 13.9x
16 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN · Public
47 $42,450 9.2x
17 University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR · Public
47 $38,354 14.4x
18 The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX · Public
46 $39,336 12.1x
19 Georgia College & State University
Milledgeville, GA · Public
46 $38,603 14.5x
20 University of Georgia
Athens, GA · Public
45 $36,636 12.8x
Explore our Journalism rankings across 178 schools nationwide →

Related majors

Similar fields of study often offered alongside Journalism.

FAQ

Frequently asked about Journalism

What's the typical salary after a Journalism degree?

The median first-year salary across 178 Journalism programs is $34,417. School selection matters — the gap between the lowest ($18,301) and highest ($52,015) earning programs is significant.

Will AI affect Journalism careers?

Our analysis classifies Journalism as "Very High" for AI risk — approximately 61% of typical job tasks overlap with current AI capabilities. That puts most of the daily work in the automation-sensitive category.

Where should I study Journalism?

Our data ranks California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo first among 178 Journalism programs. Its score of 56/100 reflects strong outcomes across earnings ($48,637/yr), return on investment, and career durability.

Is a Journalism degree worth the investment?

Typical graduates earn 9.0 times what they paid in tuition within a decade. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly. Look at per-school ROI in the table above — averages can mask significant variation.