2023 Best Online Communications Degrees

Communications degrees are one of the most popular degrees in the country. This is primarily because the subject matter is broad and the skills can be applied to nearly any industry. During an online communications degree, you'll study various ways of effective communication through writing, digital media, marketing, and public speaking. These degree programs generally require 120 credits and take four years to complete on a full-time schedule. At minimum, applicants will need a high school diploma or GED certificate to apply for a communication degree online.

Once accepted into a program, you'll explore both written and spoken communication and various forms of speech — including persuasive, informative, and demonstrative. Some students use a bachelors as a stepping stone to a master's in communications.

There are a lot of things to consider before applying for college, such as ways to save money by applying for scholarships, financial aid, or student loans. Among the most important considerations is your school's accreditation status. This refers to the process of evaluation performed by accrediting organizations to determine whether a school meets the appropriate standards.

The best communications schools are approved by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications: the premier organization responsible for ensuring quality programmatic education in the field of communication.

The best online schools for communications feature several concentration options. Concentrations allow you to narrow the scope of your studies and build your skills for the career you want to achieve. They are specific to certain industries or communication methods, all the way from health care to journalism.

Health Communication

Students of health communication study how health-related information is produced and disseminated in order to educate individuals, community groups, institutions, and public policy. For instance, a graduate of a health communications program might be hired to design a health communications strategy for a vulnerable population, create a guide pamphlet on medications for patients, communicate hospital news and field questions for the media, or prepare health policy briefs for legislators. Coursework in this focus area typically includes health communication technology, biostatistics, professional health writing, and public healthcare policies.

Journalism & Media

Journalists produce media content to inform the public about current news and events happening on a local, national, or global scale. Journalists may work for newspapers, magazines, websites, blogs, television, radio, or social media. They work as reporters, correspondents, broadcast news analysts, television and radio announcers, editors, photographers, and more. Typical journalism coursework includes journalism ethics, feature writing, copywriting, news reporting, photojournalism, video journalism, business journalism, digital media, and beat journalism.

Public Relations

Public relations (PR) specialists produce media releases to build and sustain a desired public image for the organization or entity they represent. Their clients vary widely and may include large corporations, politicians, nonprofits, artists, and more. Public relations responsibilities often include acting as company spokesperson before the media, preparing clients for press conferences and interviews, writing speeches, and managing social media. Important coursework for potential PR specialists includes advertising, speech writing, political campaign strategy, image management, public relations writing, marketing and promotion, and other writing-focused courses.

Speech & Rhetorical Studies

A concentration in speech and rhetorical studies helps to train students to employ persuasive strategies toward advocacy, law, social justice, and political professions. Typical coursework for speech and rhetoric programs includes public advocacy, writing seminars, theories of rhetoric, language and meaning, rhetoric and social change, speechwriting, and body language. Graduates with this specialization can go on to become teachers, administrators, corporate educators, lawyers, advertisers, political campaigners, social advocates, consultants, media promoters, and grant-writers.

Strategic & Organizational Communications

Degrees focused on strategic and organizational communications train students to develop and implement communications strategies that promote an organization’s goals, identity, and mission. Specialized coursework typically involves organizational strategy and leadership, strategic storytelling, setting strategic direction, small group communication methods, gender roles in communication, and other courses specific to organization type. Graduates may pursue one of a variety of career paths, including managing corporate inter-departmental communications, devising ways of disseminating information to the public, or volunteering for nonprofit organizations.

Technical Communication

Technical communicators, or technical writers, design communications materials about technical information or products. For example, technical communicators might create instruction manuals, how-to guidebooks, or journal articles to be used in a range of fields: software development, manufacturing, government, and biomedical technology. Coursework for these degree programs typically includes standard communications curriculum as well as a shared set of prerequisites in math, statistics, and computer programming. Some programs give students the chance to work on real projects for actual clients to keep up with the rapid developments in software and technology.

Online degrees in communications provide a useful set of skills in critical thinking, writing, and problem-solving. The number of students taking on these particular programs have been steadily increasing for decades, and the job outlook is positive for several roles that require these skills. But, is it really worth it?

To answer this question, let's look at the pros and cons of obtaining a degree in communications:

Potential Benefits

Potential Drawbacks