2026 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. 

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. 

At the bachelor's level, communication 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.

Fundamentally, a communications major is a humanities degree that can help you develop skills to become an adept and confident communicator. However, the curriculum in a communications major goes much deeper than enabling you to write and speak well. Through theory-based and skills-based coursework, you can also strengthen and master the following skills:

• Critical and analytical thinking
• Conflict resolution, negotiation, and mediation
• Interpersonal
• Leadership
• Problem-solving and decision making
• Public and presentation speaking
• Research
• Visualization

These skills can prepare you for marketing, public administration, international relations, journalism, human resources, and healthcare administration careers. Additionally, an undergraduate degree in communications can prepare you for a graduate degree in a discipline such as business administration, secondary education, educational leadership, social work, and even law. 

Choosing a major in communications is excellent if you consider yourself creative and a "people person" who wants to learn the most effective ways to communicate information and ideas. It may also help to enjoy writing as you'll be asked to write research papers, essays, and presentations to fulfill course and graduation requirements.

Online schools are accredited the same as traditional universities, making them just as respected as their on-campus counterparts.

You can complete a communications degree program online, which can be affordable and convenient if you don't live close to campus or have a full schedule. Classes are delivered over learning management systems (LMS), such as Canvas or Blackboard, which provide a secure platform to communicate with instructors and classmates and submit assignments. Courses are typically asynchronous, meaning you can participate as your schedule permits throughout the week. Lectures may be recorded and stored within the LMS or a social media network, such as YouTube, to view at your leisure as long as you meet assigned deadlines. Enrolling in an online program as a communications major may be conducive due to the nature of the work, which requires a lot of reading, writing, and video-watching.

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. 

Common coursework for communications majors at the undergraduate level generally includes an introduction to communication and communication theory. Other topics include interpersonal communications, listening, public speaking, and mass media communications. If your degree is designated as a Bachelor of Science, it will also include STEM courses. 

As you develop areas of interest or advance your education in the field, you can tailor your coursework to explore other topics, such as conflict resolution and negotiations, communication theory, nonverbal communication, and team communication. Lessons learned may apply to both your personal and professional life.

Below is a list of the common courses found in a bachelor's degree in communications:

• Critical Approaches to Communication: This class helps to form your understanding of the foundation of communication through a historical and theoretical lens. It also focuses on the philosophical understanding of communication and the guiding principles used to develop the discipline.
• Presentation and Interview Anxiety Reduction Techniques: This course looks at the various ways of reducing stress and anxiety while communicating in a public forum. It covers the necessary skills and tools needed to perform during high intensity speeches, presentations, and interviews.
• Speech Communication in Business: Speech communication in business explores the methods and principles for communicating in a professional environment or workplace setting. This includes informative and persuasive methods of speaking as well as one-to-many presentation practices.

The best online schools for communications degrees feature several concentration options. Communications concentrations can account for about 30% of the coursework within a major. 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 news and events 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. For those interested in this field, affordable online journalism degrees are also available. 
• Public Relations: Public relations (PR) specialists produce media releases to build and sustain a desired public image for the organization or entity they represent. 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. Public relations bachelor's degrees are also available for those who want to focus solely on this coursework. 
• 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 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 the organization type. Graduates may pursue various career paths, including managing corporate inter-departmental communications, devising ways of disseminating information to the public, or volunteering for nonprofit organizations. Organizational leadership degrees are another possible avenue to explore. 
• 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.

Pursuing a career in communications involves interpersonal and professional communication skills. Communication skills are needed to share information accurately, lead teams, collaborate with others, and mitigate and resolve conflict effectively and thoughtfully. Some graduates choose careers where the ability to communicate orally is paramount, while others may prefer to express themselves or represent their industry or organization through writing.

According to BLS data, 23% of graduates in the field of communications work in management, while 13% work in business and financial operations. 

Below are some potential career pathways for communications majors:

• Postsecondary teachers teach subjects, such as communications, beyond the high school level and may be referred to as professors, instructors, or faculty. They teach classes, conduct and publish original research, and may supervise graduate teaching assistants. To teach at this level, you typically need a doctorate or PhD, though you may only need a master's degree to teach at the community college level.
• Market research analysts study market conditions, monitor and forecast marketing and sales trends, analyze data, and prepare reports to present findings to management. In addition, they gather data on competitor prices, sales, and marketing methods to determine a company's position in the marketplace.
• Marketing managers conduct research and analyze data to estimate the demand for products and services that a company and its competitors offer. They usually work with sales, public relations, and product development staff to develop pricing strategies that maximize profits. 
• Human resources specialists oversee an organization's recruitment and hiring efforts. They consult with managers to determine hiring needs, recruit and interview applicants, and onboard new employees. HR specialists may also oversee compensation and benefits, training programs, and employee relations.
• Lawyers often obtain an undergraduate communications degree before earning their Juris Doctor degree (JD). Lawyers represent individuals, companies, and government agencies in court. They interpret laws, rulings, and regulations for those they represent. They also prepare and file legal documents such as lawsuits, appeals, wills, and deeds. 

So, when you're thinking about what careers use communications degrees, those are some solid options. In general, you can use a communication degree in many careers, but some that are more common include journalism and mass media, public relations, and advertising. You can also apply communication skills to business, operations management, finance, sales, and entertainment jobs.

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:

Pros

• There's a broad range of career opportunities in various areas. Public relations majors, for example, can enter a wide variety of industries — from entertainment to healthcare and technology to marketing.
• Conquer your fear of public speaking. Communications degrees require you to challenge yourself, especially with speaking in a public forum, giving presentations, and participating in interviews.
• The median salary for communications careers is higher than average. The BLS states that the median yearly earnings for roles in media and communications was $70,300, as of May 2024, while the average salary of all occupations sits at $49,500.

Cons

• Communications degrees may not set you apart in a competitive job market. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, communications degrees are in the top ten most common degrees in the country.
• Roles in the media are often looked at as untrustworthy. A 2021 Gallup poll reported that only 36% of Americans trust the news to report accurate stories.
• Social media is constantly evolving. As both a student and professional, you'll be required to frequently update your skills as they relate to social media trends and how to communicate within their ecosystems effectively.

Communications is a relatively easy major, though that's going to depend on how interested you are in the subject and the effort you can put into your studies. There are a lot of different topics to study within a communications degree, so you can tailor your electives to your specific interests, making it more enjoyable.

It generally takes full-time students at least four years to get a bachelor's degree in communication. It may take an additional two years to complete a master's degree in communication and several more years for a doctorate or PhD.

A career in communications can be good. It's versatile, and you can apply the skills you acquire to numerous occupations, industries, and environments. Effective communication is a cornerstone of success in many careers. Occupations in media and communications pay a higher-than-average $70,300 salary and expect to experience steady job growth through the next decade, with 109,500 openings in this field projected each year, on average.