31 colleges ranked by the research strength of their Communication faculty — a 0–100 blend of bibliometric quality, top-decile stars, federal R&D funding, and academic notability. Research output, not teaching quality. Reference corpus: 502 faculty. Data as of 2026-07-02.
| # | College | Research Strength | Coverage | Median h | FY24 R&D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwestern University Elite Private · #9 24 matched faculty; median h-index 30; $4m FY24 R&D; led by Pablo J. Boczkowski (h-index 38). | 78 | C | 30.5 | $4m |
| 2 | Michigan State University State Flagship · #63 34 matched faculty; median h-index 14; $7m FY24 R&D; led by John C. Besley (h-index 41). | 65 | A | 14.5 | $7m |
| 3 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Public Ivy · #33 12 matched faculty; median h-index 22; $2m FY24 R&D; led by Harrison, Kristen (h-index 38). | 61 | B | 22 | $2m |
| 4 | University of California, Santa Barbara Public Ivy · #39 21 matched faculty; median h-index 25; $0m FY24 R&D; led by Rene Weber (h-index 36). | 57 | A | 25 | $0m |
| 5 | University of Florida Public Ivy · #27 22 matched faculty; median h-index 12; $3m FY24 R&D; led by Roxane Coche (h-index 12). | 55 | B | 12.5 | $3m |
| 6 | San Diego State University State Flagship · #119 14 matched faculty; median h-index 15; $2m FY24 R&D; led by Wayne Beach (h-index 22). | 54 | C | 15 | $2m |
| 7 | University of Alabama Selective Public · #97 14 matched faculty; median h-index 10; $3m FY24 R&D; led by Andrew Billings (h-index 44). | 53 | B | 10 | $3m |
| 8 | University of Tennessee, Knoxville Selective Public · #105 24 matched faculty; median h-index 9; $5m FY24 R&D; led by Joe Mazer (h-index 58). | 52 | C | 9.5 | $5m |
| 9 | Baylor University Regional · #91 16 matched faculty; median h-index 10; $2m FY24 R&D; led by John R. Cunningham (h-index 107). | 50 | B | 10.5 | $2m |
| 10 | University of Missouri Regional · #105 34 matched faculty; median h-index 9; $3m FY24 R&D; led by Shelly Rodgers (h-index 27). | 49 | B | 9.5 | $3m |
| 11 | University of Connecticut State Flagship · #70 15 matched faculty; median h-index 16; $1m FY24 R&D; led by Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch (h-index 24). | 49 | B | 16 | $1m |
| 12 | University of South Carolina State Flagship · #129 10 matched faculty; median h-index 17; $1m FY24 R&D; led by Fitzpatrick, Mary Anne (h-index 38). | 49 | C | 17 | $1m |
| 13 | University of Oklahoma Regional · #112 13 matched faculty; median h-index 11; $3m FY24 R&D; led by Andrea Miller (h-index 47). | 48 | C | 11 | $3m |
| 14 | Boston University Elite Private · #41 6 matched faculty; median h-index 15; $1m FY24 R&D; led by Susan Kaplan Carlton (h-index 69). | 46 | C | 15.5 | $1m |
| 15 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Selective Public · #109 14 matched faculty; median h-index 8; $1m FY24 R&D; led by Kelli Boling (h-index 8). | 46 | C | 8 | $1m |
| 16 | Temple University Regional · #98 4 matched faculty; median h-index 18; $1m FY24 R&D; led by Lauren Bullock (h-index 22). | 42 | C | 18 | $1m |
| 17 | University of Oregon Regional · #112 19 matched faculty; median h-index 9; $2m FY24 R&D; led by Nicole Dahmen (h-index 19). | 40 | B | 9 | $2m |
| 18 | American University Regional · #91 12 matched faculty; median h-index 8; $2m FY24 R&D; led by Patricia Aufderheide (h-index 22). | 40 | A | 8 | $2m |
| 19 | University of Kentucky Selective Public · #127 30 matched faculty; median h-index 12; $0m FY24 R&D; led by Don Helme (h-index 17). | 40 | A | 12.5 | $0m |
| 20 | Louisiana State University Selective Public · #147 10 matched faculty; median h-index 11; $1m FY24 R&D; led by Renee Edwards (h-index 20). | 39 | C | 11.5 | $1m |
| 21 | Texas Christian University Regional · #105 25 matched faculty; median h-index 9; $0m FY24 R&D; led by Guy Golan (h-index 34). | 37 | B | 9 | $0m |
| 22 | Howard University Selective Private · #86 10 matched faculty; median h-index 4; $5m FY24 R&D; led by Ingrid Sturgis (h-index 4). | 36 | C | 4 | $5m |
| 23 | University of Kansas Selective Public · #130 21 matched faculty; median h-index 8; $2m FY24 R&D; led by Margarita Orozco (h-index 19). | 35 | B | 8 | $2m |
| 24 | Loyola University Chicago Regional · #105 11 matched faculty; median h-index 8; led by Florence M. Chee (h-index 9). | 34 | C | 8 | — |
| 25 | University of New Hampshire Regional · #119 5 matched faculty; median h-index 8; $1m FY24 R&D. | 34 | C | 8 | $1m |
| 26 | Tulane University Elite Private · #73 14 matched faculty; median h-index 9; $0m FY24 R&D; led by Vicki Mayer (h-index 16). | 34 | B | 9.5 | $0m |
| 27 | University of Rochester Regional · #44 7 matched faculty; median h-index 3; led by William H. Bridges, IV (h-index 64). | 28 | B | 3 | — |
| 28 | University of San Diego Regional · #112 6 matched faculty; median h-index 5; $0m FY24 R&D; led by Kristin Moran (h-index 5). | 27 | C | 5.5 | $0m |
| 29 | Furman University Top LAC · #50 6 matched faculty; median h-index 3; led by Brandon Inabinet (h-index 3). | 21 | B | 3 | — |
| 30 | University of Denver Regional · #119 8 matched faculty; median h-index 5; $0m FY24 R&D. | 19 | B | 5.5 | $0m |
| 31 | Denison University Top LAC · #39 6 matched faculty; median h-index 2; $0m FY24 R&D; led by Sangeet Kumar (h-index 8). | 15 | B | 2 | $0m |
Research Strength (0–100) blends four components, re-normalized over whichever are available for each college: Quality 45%, Stars 25%, Funding 20%, Notability 10%. Each college's faculty in Communication are matched to OpenAlex research records; scores use field-relative percentiles across these 192 colleges, not all US institutions. A college needs at least four matched faculty to be ranked.
Research Strength Rankings v1.0 · as of 2026-07-02.