Arizona·Educational Instruction and Library Occupations·SOC 25-1122

Best Communications Teacher, Postsecondary programs in Arizona, ranked by enrollment

Teach courses in communications, such as organizational communications, public relations, radio/television broadcasting, and journalism.

21 schools in Arizona run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,217 people a year. The job pays a median of $71,230 in Arizona across about 630 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledProfessorInstructorCommunication ProfessorCommunication InstructorLecturerSpeech TeacherAdjunct LecturerSpeech Professor
Graduates / yr
3,217
in Arizona
Median pay · Arizona
$71,230
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
630
people employed
Schools
21
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
28%
across those schools
Median net price
$26,445
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Arizona that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

12 programs in Arizona that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Arizona (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Arizona page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 09.0101In Arizona
1,378
42.8%
8$34,858$25,000
2
CIP 09.0702In Arizona
586
18.2%
7$29,112$23,836
3
CIP 09.0100In Arizona
439
13.6%
14$34,858$25,000
4
CIP 09.0102In Arizona
242
7.5%
3$34,858$25,000
5
CIP 09.0906In Arizona
160
5.0%
2$39,658$24,500
6
CIP 09.0499In Arizona
150
4.7%
1$34,515$24,250
7
CIP 09.0401In Arizona
131
4.1%
9$34,515$24,250
8
CIP 09.0701In Arizona
58
1.8%
1$29,112$23,836
9
CIP 09.0903In Arizona
35
1.1%
2$39,658$24,500
10
CIP 09.0908In Arizona
26
0.8%
2$39,658$24,500
11
CIP 09.9999In Arizona
11
0.3%
2$36,931$24,500
12
CIP 09.0907In Arizona
1
0.0%
1$39,658$24,500

Top 21 schools in Arizona

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 8 of the 21 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Arizona State University Digital Immersion
Scottsdale, AZ Public · 4 feeder programs
1,094Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia$35,9810%67%
2Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ Public · 7 feeder programs
790Speech Communication and Rhetoric$44,57168%90%
3Grand Canyon University
Phoenix, AZ Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
395Speech Communication and Rhetoric$38,50743%$21,53579%
4University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ Public · 4 feeder programs
370Speech Communication and Rhetoric$42,99368%86%
5University of Phoenix - Arizona
Phoenix, AZ Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
231Communication, General$47,91921%$15,478
6Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ Public · 6 feeder programs
169Speech Communication and Rhetoric$41,49161%90%
7Glendale Community College
Glendale, AZ Public · 3 feeder programs
21Communication, General16%
8Estrella Mountain Community College
Avondale, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs
20Communication, General32%
9Mesa Community College
Mesa, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs
20Communication, General16%
10The University of Arizona Global Campus
Chandler, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs
20Journalism$32,45911%$26,445
11Ottawa University - Surprise
Surprise, AZ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
17Speech Communication and Rhetoric$33,46518%$34,37378%
12Chandler - Gilbert Community College
Chandler, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
14Communication, General30%
13Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, AZ Public · 3 feeder programs
14Communication, General17%
14Phoenix College
Phoenix, AZ Public · 3 feeder programs
13Communication, General14%
15South Mountain Community College
Phoenix, AZ Public · 3 feeder programs
11Communication, General16%
16Paradise Valley Community College
Phoenix, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs
7Communication, General19%
17Central Arizona College
Coolidge, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
6Speech Communication and Rhetoric27%
18Rio Salado College
Tempe, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
2Communication, General9%
19Arizona Christian University
Glendale, AZ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Communication, General40%$32,19871%
20Cochise County Community College District
Sierra Vista, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
1Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia30%
21GateWay Community College
Phoenix, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
1Communication, General29%

All 21 schools in Arizona

Every school in Arizona with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Arizona that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Arizona State University Digital ImmersionScottsdalePublic1,0944
Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempePublic7907
Grand Canyon UniversityPhoenixPrivate not-for-profit3953
University of ArizonaTucsonPublic3704
University of Phoenix - ArizonaPhoenixPrivate for-profit2311
Northern Arizona UniversityFlagstaffPublic1696
Glendale Community CollegeGlendalePublic213
Estrella Mountain Community CollegeAvondalePublic202
Mesa Community CollegeMesaPublic202
The University of Arizona Global CampusChandlerPublic202
Ottawa University - SurpriseSurprisePrivate not-for-profit171
Chandler - Gilbert Community CollegeChandlerPublic141
Scottsdale Community CollegeScottsdalePublic143
Phoenix CollegePhoenixPublic133
South Mountain Community CollegePhoenixPublic113

What communications teachers, postsecondary earn in Arizona

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Arizona
$71,230
Mean annual
$84,310
Jobs in state
630
What the range looks like
10th pct$71,230Median$71,23090th pct$110,870
Versus the national median
-9.4%

U.S. median $78,580. Arizona pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.03×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Arizona

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
$71,230median
470 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+2.1%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
2,700
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
800
35,800 → 36,600
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Communications Teachers, Postsecondary page.

How to become a Communications Teacher, Postsecondary

Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Top skills

Active ListeningReading ComprehensionSpeakingActive LearningLearning StrategiesWriting

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Arizona

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 23 majors mapped to Communications Teachers, Postsecondary22 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 09.0100Communication, General
  • 09.0101Speech Communication and Rhetoric
  • 09.0102Mass Communication/Media Studies
  • 09.0401Journalism
  • 09.0402Broadcast Journalism
  • 09.0405Business and Economic Journalism(no graduates reported)
  • 09.0406Cultural Journalism
  • 09.0407Science/Health/Environmental Journalism
  • 09.0499Journalism, Other
  • 09.0701Radio and Television
  • 09.0702Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia
  • 09.0900Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication
  • 09.0902Public Relations/Image Management
  • 09.0903Advertising
  • 09.0904Political Communication
  • 09.0905Health Communication
  • 09.0906Sports Communication
  • 09.0907International and Intercultural Communication
  • 09.0908Technical and Scientific Communication
  • 09.9999Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other
  • 50.0607Documentary Production
  • 52.0501Business/Corporate Communications, General
  • 52.0599Business/Corporate Communications, Other

Common questions

Answers for people weighing communications teachers, postsecondary programs in Arizona.

What degree do you need to become a Communications Teacher, Postsecondary?+

Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Speech Communication and Rhetoric, which awarded 1,378 degrees in Arizona in 2024-25, 42.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Communications Teacher, Postsecondary?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 12 programs to this occupation. The largest are Communication and Media Studies, Radio, Journalism, Public Relations, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 3,217 people a year in Arizona.

How much do communications teachers, postsecondary earn in Arizona?+

The median is $71,230 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 9.4% below the U.S. median of $78,580. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for communications teachers, postsecondary growing?+

BLS projects a +2.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 2,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Arizona?+

21 institutions in Arizona reported graduates from at least one of the 12 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do communications teachers, postsecondary work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Instructor, Communication Professor, Communication Instructor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1122.

Communications Teachers, Postsecondary in other statesCaliforniaTexasNew YorkFloridaPennsylvaniaIllinoisOhioNorth Carolina

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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