College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Communication and Media Studies degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 628 colleges (628 of 628 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$32,311

Graduates only, early career.$33,993 two years out.

Median federal debt

$22,764

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.68×

68% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Communication and Media Studies report early-career pay between $29,022 and $35,862 — a spread of $6,840 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $29,022 median $32,311 75th pct $35,862

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Associate's 9 colleges $23,596 $10,500 0.47×

Bachelor's 628 colleges $32,311 $22,764 0.68×

Master's 62 colleges $47,136 $33,774 0.72×

Doctoral 6 colleges $58,082 $115,215 2.20×

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

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Santa Clara University CA $53,040 $17,832 debt

CUNY Graduate School and University Center NY $51,317 $12,901 debt

University of Pennsylvania PA $50,120 $15,000 debt

Boston College MA $49,055 $18,000 debt

Northwestern University IL $48,590 $17,687 debt

Northeastern University MA $48,567 $21,500 debt

Northeastern University Professional Programs MA $48,567 $21,500 debt

University of California-Berkeley CA $48,287 $11,100 debt

University of Maryland Global Campus MD $47,841 $23,000 debt

St Catherine University MN $46,701 $27,918 debt

University of Southern California CA $46,379 $15,875 debt

The University of Texas at Austin TX $46,014 $19,500 debt

Colorado State University Global CO $46,011 $23,187 debt

Fairfield University CT $45,767 $26,919 debt

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI $45,761 $19,941 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Communication and Media Studies, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard