Speech Communication and Rhetoric

A program that focuses on the scientific, humanistic, and critical study of human communication in a variety of formats, media, and contexts. Includes instruction in the theory and practice of interpersonal, group, organizational, professional, and intercultural communication; speaking and listening; verbal and nonverbal interaction; rhetorical theory and criticism; performance studies; argumentation and persuasion; technologically mediated communication; popular culture; and various contextual applications.

Degree Statistics

This program is offered at 750 institutions across the United States, with a total of 100439 degrees awarded annually.

Certificates Below Bachelor's

566

certificates awarded

Associate Degrees

4,125

degrees awarded

Bachelor's Degrees

25,870

degrees awarded

Post-Baccalaureate Certificates

164

certificates awarded

Master's Degrees

2,257

degrees awarded

Doctoral Degrees

317

degrees awarded

Other Awards

67,140

awards given

Top Schools for Speech Communication and Rhetoric

These institutions offer the most degrees in this program, ranked by total annual completions.

Rank	Institution	Degrees
1	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	2,046
2	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	1,467
3	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	1,275
4	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	1,230
5	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ	1,221
6	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	1,107
7	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY	1,026
8	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	1,020
9	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	957
10	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	930
11	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	900
12	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	897
13	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	885
14	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	864
15	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	840
16	East Carolina University Greenville, NC	822
17	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	807
18	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	789
19	Florida International University Miami, FL	777
20	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	774
21	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	759
22	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC	753
23	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	732
24	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	732
25	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	729
26	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	714
27	University of Denver Denver, CO	699
28	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	675
29	Bakersfield College Bakersfield, CA	669
30	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR	645
31	University of South Florida Tampa, FL	645
32	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY	627
33	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI	627
34	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	618
35	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH	615
36	University of Delaware Newark, DE	603
37	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	597
38	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	591
39	Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ	579
40	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	558
41	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	558
42	Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara, CA	549
43	Villanova University Villanova, PA	546
44	California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA	534
45	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	531
46	University at Albany Albany, NY	531
47	California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA	528
48	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC	525
49	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	525
50	Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL	519
51	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	513
52	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO	507
53	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	501
54	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	486
55	Long Beach City College Long Beach, CA	471
56	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	468
57	University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD	459
58	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	459
59	College of Charleston Charleston, SC	459
60	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH	444
61	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA	435
62	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	435
63	Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL	429
64	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS	429
65	University of Louisville Louisville, KY	426
66	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	420
67	Liberty University Lynchburg, VA	408
68	Santa Monica College Santa Monica, CA	405
69	Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA	405
70	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH	402
71	Weber State University Ogden, UT	399
72	University of Dayton Dayton, OH	396
73	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN	390
74	Salisbury University Salisbury, MD	375
75	Santa Ana College Santa Ana, CA	368
76	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI	366
77	Boise State University Boise, ID	363
78	Kean University Union, NJ	363
79	Texas State University San Marcos, TX	360
80	Illinois State University Normal, IL	360
81	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	357
82	University of Georgia Athens, GA	348
83	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC	345
84	Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX	342
85	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	338
86	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV	336
87	West Valley College Saratoga, CA	331
88	Southern Utah University Cedar City, UT	328
89	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	327
90	Orange Coast College Costa Mesa, CA	318
91	Cerritos College Norwalk, CA	316
92	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO	315
93	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI	310
94	Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA	309
95	Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL	309
96	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI	309
97	California State University-Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA	306
98	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK	300
99	Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI	294
100	California State University-Chico Chico, CA	294