Iona’s Media & Strategic Communication Program Is Again Ranked One of the Country’s Best
Iona College’s Media & Strategic Communication program has once again been ranked among the top programs nationwide according to PayScale’s College Salary report.
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Iona College’s Media & Strategic Communication program has once again been ranked among the top programs nationwide for its success in preparing students to earn jobs in the field and go on to enjoy productive careers.
PayScale’s College Salary report, which ranks schools according to best value and return on investment (ROI), puts Iona’s Media & Strategic Communication program in the top 11% in the country. Based on PayScale survey data, a student who graduates from Iona with a degree in Media & Strategic Communication will make average early-career earnings of $43,000 and average mid-career earnings of $75,000. These numbers are above the national average of graduates, who make $37,000 in their early career and $65,000 in their mid-career.
College Factual, another ranking system, puts Iona’s program in the top 15% of all communications programs in the United States.
Iona College’s Media & Strategic Communication program offers four concentrations: advertising, digital media and production, journalism, and public relations. The department’s faculty are professors with extensive professional experience in their respective fields. Students have the opportunity to practice real-life skills in the new, state-of-the-art multimedia digital lab and in student-run media outlets and clubs. With Iona’s close proximity to New York City, students can also take advantage of a variety of prestigious internships. Some of the exciting places Iona students have interned include NBCUniversal, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Barney’s and Sports Illustrated, as well as with major advertising agencies and public relations firms.
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of more than 50,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona is widely recognized in prestigious rankings, including The Princeton Review’s 2025 national list of “The Best 390 Colleges” and The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse’s “2024 Best Colleges in America,” which ranked Iona at #66 in the nation overall and #8 in the nation among Catholic schools. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just six percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2023.” Iona also offers a fully online MBA program for even greater flexibility. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian. Connecting to its Irish heritage, the University also recently announced it is expanding abroad with a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.