---
title: Is a Business/Corporate Communications degree worth the debt?
cip: 5205
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Business/Corporate Communications degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **24** colleges (24 of 24 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $38,281 ($39,909 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $25,000 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.70× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $35,169–$42,876 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $38,281 | $25,000 | 0.70× | 24 | 24/24 |

## Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| National University (CA) | $54,414 | — |
| Walden University (MN) | $53,308 | — |
| Marquette University (WI) | $50,055 | $23,250 |
| Bentley University (MA) | $46,922 | $23,250 |
| Chapman University (CA) | $44,813 | $17,875 |
| Walsh University (OH) | $43,496 | $27,000 |
| Aquinas College (MI) | $42,669 | $21,500 |
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch College (NY) | $41,939 | $11,640 |
| North Dakota State University-Main Campus (ND) | $41,517 | $25,250 |
| University of Houston (TX) | $39,832 | $18,750 |
| University of Wisconsin-River Falls (WI) | $39,133 | $17,594 |
| Roosevelt University (IL) | $38,394 | $15,500 |
| Stevenson University (MD) | $38,168 | $26,000 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Shenango (PA) | $35,169 | $25,000 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Wilkes-Barre (PA) | $35,169 | $25,000 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/business-corporate-communications.jsonld` · `/education/fields/business-corporate-communications.json`