Texas Communications Degrees

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There are six institutions in the state of Texas that have been accredited by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC). The University of Texas at Austin has the largest enrollment among the schools with this designation and offers a Bachelor's degree in Journalism. This discipline is also the most common available among the accredited communication programs.

Texas State University has many options for prospective students, including Mass Communication, and Advertising and Electronic Media with a focus on its relationship with Mass Communication. The Bachelor of Science in Digital Media Innovation and Mass Communication was added after its most recent accreditation from 2015. Typically, schools receive an accreditation from the ACEJMC for a total of six years.

Only one university provides an accredited Master's degree, and that is the University of North Texas. This also has a focus in Journalism, and students can elect to take the thesis or non-thesis version of this program.

Schools that hold accreditation from the ACEJMC have been able to self-evaluate their program and determine that it meets the rigorous standards held by the established organization. Gaining accreditation requires the program to show proficiency in nine different categories, including diversity and inclusion, the curriculum based on academics and professional skill development, and posting graduation and retention rates clearly on the program website.

Top Locations for Communications Schools and Job Opportunities in Texas

Both Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston represent massive media markets as Nielsen ranks them both within the top 10 in television viewership. Dallas is above other market areas like San Francisco and Washington, DC, and both locations are higher than the major metropolitan areas of Boston, Atlanta, and Seattle.

Major network owned-and-operated stations in this metropolitan area include KDFW (Fox), KXAS-TV (NBC), and KTVT (CBS). In addition to Dallas and Forth Worth, licensures are also located in Arlington, Denton, and DeSoto.

Both Dallas and Fort Worth have their own daily newspaper publications, The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. While they maintain their separation, there is crossover content and many establishments will sell both of the newspapers. For further work in broadcasting, content creation, or platforms for advertising potential, there are nearly 100 AM and FM radio stations in the Greater Dallas-Fort Worth Area.

Houston, which has the highest population of over 2.3 million in the state of Texas, has only one daily newspaper widely distributed, the Houston Chronicle, which is owned by the Hearst Corporation. The only alternative is the Houston Press that has become an online-only media source back in 2017.

As with many other massive metropolitan areas, numerous broadcast affiliates are owned-and-operated stations. There are routinely positions available at the majority of their networks, including KHOU (CBS), KTRK-TV (ABC), and KRIV (Fox).

Click to for more online communications degrees that are taking applications for 2024.

Campus-based and online Communications programs in Texas

Texas Journalism and Communications Careers, Salaries, and Associations

Texas has the second-largest employment for public relations specialists in the country according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics with over 26,100 workers employed. That is significantly above the national average. Both the Dallas-Forth Worth and Houston metropolitan areas are within the top 10 locations in terms of high employment in this career pathway.

In addition, the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area sees the highest concentration of job positions. The median wage across the state sits at just over $55,500, but that figure can jump up to approximately $93,580 within the top 10 percent. The average is slightly lower when compared to some of the other locations with high levels of employment.

For broadcast news analysts, Texas hires over 250 workers in this position, making it one of the top states in the nation and highest within the Southwest region. Annual salary estimates are around the $90,000 mark.

As for reporters and correspondents in general, salary estimates are at a more modest approximation of $45,900, which is around the national median. Some of the top-paying areas in the state are the metropolitan areas of Houston, Austin-Round Rock, and Corpus Christi – all in the southern portion of the state and all feature salaries well beyond the $95,000 mark for the top 10 percent.

Texas Association of Broadcasters

The Texas Association of Broadcasters (TAB) is an established organization beginning in 1953 and represents terrestrial radio and television throughout the state. Services they offer include broadcast inspections to determine if stations are compliant with FCC standards and gives them a waiver of up to three years from official random inspections from the FCC. They also provide free legal advice on following these FCC regulations and answer any questions that broadcasters may have.

Professional development is also available through various training programs that are offered through the association. For students, TAB provides internship opportunities with their member companies and scholarship awards to outstanding students in the field, all in a bid to improve networking opportunities for promising employees.