---
title: Is a Communication and Media Studies degree worth the debt?
cip: 0901
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 Communication and Media Studies degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **628** colleges (628 of 628 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $32,311 ($33,993 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,764 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.68× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $29,022–$35,862 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Associate's | $23,596 | $10,500 | 0.47× | 9 | 9/9 |
| Bachelor's | $32,311 | $22,764 | 0.68× | 628 | 628/628 |
| Master's | $47,136 | $33,774 | 0.72× | 62 | 62/62 |
| Doctoral | $58,082 | $115,215 | 2.20× | 6 | 6/6 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Santa Clara University (CA) | $53,040 | $17,832 |
| CUNY Graduate School and University Center (NY) | $51,317 | $12,901 |
| University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $50,120 | $15,000 |
| Boston College (MA) | $49,055 | $18,000 |
| Northwestern University (IL) | $48,590 | $17,687 |
| Northeastern University (MA) | $48,567 | $21,500 |
| Northeastern University Professional Programs (MA) | $48,567 | $21,500 |
| University of California-Berkeley (CA) | $48,287 | $11,100 |
| University of Maryland Global Campus (MD) | $47,841 | $23,000 |
| St Catherine University (MN) | $46,701 | $27,918 |
| University of Southern California (CA) | $46,379 | $15,875 |
| The University of Texas at Austin (TX) | $46,014 | $19,500 |
| Colorado State University Global (CO) | $46,011 | $23,187 |
| Fairfield University (CT) | $45,767 | $26,919 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (MI) | $45,761 | $19,941 |

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/communication-and-media-studies.jsonld` · `/education/fields/communication-and-media-studies.json`