---
title: Is a Journalism degree worth the debt?
cip: 0904
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 Journalism degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **181** colleges (181 of 181 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $31,765 ($32,634 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,467 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.68× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $28,521–$34,696 — 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 | $31,765 | $22,467 | 0.68× | 181 | 181/181 |
| Master's | $43,111 | $36,091 | 1.02× | 25 | 25/25 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Southern California (CA) | $44,188 | $15,000 |
| Northwestern University (IL) | $44,144 | $14,834 |
| George Washington University (DC) | $42,777 | $25,000 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI) | $42,011 | $21,500 |
| American University (DC) | $40,534 | $24,976 |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (CA) | $39,869 | $19,500 |
| Syracuse University (NY) | $39,363 | $27,000 |
| Northeastern University (MA) | $38,872 | $24,005 |
| Emerson College (MA) | $38,675 | $23,610 |
| University of Colorado Boulder (CO) | $38,625 | $15,250 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (MN) | $38,410 | $19,500 |
| University of Maryland-College Park (MD) | $38,316 | $21,500 |
| Texas Christian University (TX) | $38,196 | — |
| Samford University (AL) | $38,043 | $18,120 |
| University of Kansas (KS) | $37,913 | $22,000 |

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/journalism.jsonld` · `/education/fields/journalism.json`