Best Media programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment
All media and communication workers not listed.
20 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,438 people a year. The job pays a median of $42,920 in North Carolina across about — jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in North Carolina that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in North Carolina that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in North Carolina (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 North Carolina page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 09.0101In North Carolina → | 1,335 | 92.8% | 15 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 09.0702In North Carolina → | 103 | 7.2% | 10 | $29,112 | $23,836 |
Top 20 schools in North Carolina
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 20 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Carolina University Greenville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 293 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $37,813 | 63% | — | 89% |
| 2 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 253 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $38,234 | 69% | — | 80% |
| 3 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 220 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $39,889 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 4 | University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 177 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $36,695 | 71% | — | 64% |
| 5 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 149 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $43,348 | 91% | — | 15% |
| 6 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 105 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $38,331 | 75% | — | 90% |
| 7 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 71 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $30,559 | 56% | — | 89% |
| 8 | Elon University Elon, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | $33,894 | 84% | $33,688 | 66% |
| 9 | Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 41 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $28,996 | 60% | — | 82% |
| 10 | Fayetteville State University Fayetteville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $24,210 | 38% | — | 82% |
| 11 | High Point University High Point, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | — | 74% | $37,072 | 75% |
| 12 | Catawba College Salisbury, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 10 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $32,323 | 47% | $17,916 | 75% |
| 13 | North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $28,985 | 57% | — | 50% |
| 14 | Duke University Durham, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | — | 97% | $16,260 | 6% |
| 15 | Campbell University Buies Creek, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 5 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 61% | $23,331 | 87% |
| 16 | North Carolina Wesleyan University Rocky Mount, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 42% | $18,905 | 80% |
| 17 | Methodist University Fayetteville, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 44% | $24,551 | 75% |
| 18 | Davidson College Davidson, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | — | 91% | $16,628 | 13% |
| 19 | Meredith College Raleigh, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 2 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $35,157 | 70% | $19,552 | 74% |
| 20 | William Peace University Raleigh, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | — | 45% | $23,108 | 94% |
All 20 schools in North Carolina
Every school in North Carolina 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Carolina University | Greenville | Public | 293 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte | Public | 253 | 1 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | Raleigh | Public | 220 | 2 |
| University of North Carolina Wilmington | Wilmington | Public | 177 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill | Public | 149 | 2 |
| Appalachian State University | Boone | Public | 105 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro | Public | 71 | 1 |
| Elon University | Elon | Private not-for-profit | 43 | 1 |
| Western Carolina University | Cullowhee | Public | 41 | 1 |
| Fayetteville State University | Fayetteville | Public | 22 | 1 |
| High Point University | High Point | Private not-for-profit | 17 | 1 |
| Catawba College | Salisbury | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 2 |
| North Carolina A & T State University | Greensboro | Public | 10 | 1 |
| Duke University | Durham | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Campbell University | Buies Creek | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 2 |
What media and communication workers, all other earn in North Carolina
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $73,620. North Carolina pays below the national figure.
Metro areas in North Carolina
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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 Media and Communication Workers, All Other page.
How to become a Media
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in North Carolina
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 3 majors mapped to Media and Communication Workers, All Other3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0101Speech Communication and Rhetoric
- 09.0702Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia
- 10.0105Communications Technology/Technician
Common questions
Answers for people weighing media and communication workers, all other programs in North Carolina.
What degree do you need to become a Media?+
High school diploma or equivalent 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 1,335 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 92.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Media?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Communication and Media Studies, Radio. Together they graduate about 1,438 people a year in North Carolina.
How much do media and communication workers, all other earn in North Carolina?+
The median is $42,920 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 41.7% below the U.S. median of $73,620. 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 media and communication workers, all other growing?+
BLS projects a +2.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 3,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in North Carolina?+
20 institutions in North Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 2 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.
Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+
BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'Short-term on-the-job training' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, 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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