Online Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Bachelor’s degree
22 programs — 18 with federal cost data, the rest suppressed for small class sizes and listed after them, ordered by median debt against median earnings — lowest first.
Data last updated
Field
Hide for-profit colleges(1 program)What our data shows about for-profit collegesAcross the creative fields on this site, students at private for-profit institutions borrow 27% more than students at public ones ($29,332 against $23,033) and earn 15% less four years after completing ($38,361 against $45,110).The combined effect is severe. Median debt at a for-profit equals 70% of a graduate’s annual earnings, against 47% at a public institution. And 10% of for-profit programs leave graduates owing more than they earn in a year — against 1% of public ones. Ten times the rate.This is a pattern across 212 for-profit programs, not a handful of outliers, and it holds in every creative field we cover. It does not mean no for-profit program is worth taking: some appear high in our best-value rankings, and this filter hides those too. It means the odds are materially worse, and the burden of proof sits with the school.Figures are medians computed from the College Scorecard and IPEDS data behind every table on this site.
| Institution | Programcredential and delivery | at completion | 4 yrs after | Median federal loan debt at completion, divided by median earnings four years later. It answers a single question: how much of one year’s income do you owe on the day you finish?Below 50% is generally considered manageable. Above 100% means graduates owe more than they earn in a year, and repayment on a standard ten-year plan starts to consume a serious share of income.Debt covers federal loans only, so real ratios are often worse. Both figures are medians — half of graduates fall on the wrong side of each. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwood UniversityMI · Private nonprofitRequest information → | AdvertisingBachelor’s degree · Fully online | $18,250 | $68,008 | 27% |
| Washington State UniversityWA · PublicRequest information → | Public Relations/Image ManagementBachelor’s degree · Online or on campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:AdvertisingPublic Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationHealth CommunicationTechnical and Scientific CommunicationCommunication Management and Strategic CommunicationsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $19,112 | $67,647 | 28% |
| Texas Tech UniversityTX · PublicRequest information → | AdvertisingBachelor’s degree · Online or on campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Public Relations/Image ManagementPublic Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationSports CommunicationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $20,250 | $62,247 | 33% |
| Drexel UniversityPA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationBachelor’s degree · Fully onlineWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Communication Management and Strategic CommunicationsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $24,249 | $66,750 | 36% |
| Murray State UniversityKY · PublicRequest information → | Organizational Communication, GeneralBachelor’s degree · Online or on campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Public Relations/Image ManagementAdvertisingHealth CommunicationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $21,235 | $58,265 | 36% |
| The University of AlabamaAL · PublicRequest information → | Public Relations/Image ManagementBachelor’s degree · Fully onlineWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:AdvertisingThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $24,889 | $68,227 | 36% |
| Cleveland State UniversityOH · PublicRequest information → | Organizational Communication, GeneralBachelor’s degree · Online or on campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Public Relations/Image ManagementThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $21,500 | $55,174 | 39% |
| Eastern Illinois UniversityIL · PublicRequest information → | Public Relations/Image ManagementBachelor’s degree · Online or on campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Health CommunicationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $23,250 | $59,401 | 39% |
| Western Michigan UniversityMI · PublicRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication, OtherBachelor’s degree · Online or on campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:AdvertisingOrganizational Communication, GeneralThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $25,146 | $64,127 | 39% |
| University of Central OklahomaOK · PublicRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationBachelor’s degree · Online or on campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Organizational Communication, GeneralThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $20,000 | $50,636 | 39% |
| Arkansas State UniversityAR · PublicRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication, OtherBachelor’s degree · Fully onlineWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $23,250 | $54,196 | 43% |
| University of IdahoID · PublicRequest information → | Organizational Communication, GeneralBachelor’s degree · Online or on campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:AdvertisingPublic Relations/Image ManagementThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $24,634 | $56,032 | 44% |
| Western Kentucky UniversityKY · PublicRequest information → | Organizational Communication, GeneralBachelor’s degree · Online or on campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:AdvertisingPublic Relations/Image ManagementHealth CommunicationCommunication Management and Strategic CommunicationsPublic Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $25,000 | $53,839 | 46% |
| Loyola University New OrleansLA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationBachelor’s degree · Fully online | $24,735 | $53,240 | 46% |
| Point Park UniversityPA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationBachelor’s degree · Online or on campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Public Relations/Image ManagementSports CommunicationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $27,000 | $55,545 | 49% |
| University of Akron Main CampusOH · PublicRequest information → | Public Relations/Image ManagementBachelor’s degree · Fully onlineWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Organizational Communication, GeneralThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $25,965 | $51,824 | 50% |
| Eastern Kentucky UniversityKY · PublicRequest information → | Public Relations/Image ManagementBachelor’s degree · Fully onlineWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Organizational Communication, GeneralThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $25,000 | $49,272 | 51% |
| Full Sail UniversityFL · Private for-profitRequest information → | Sports CommunicationBachelor’s degree · Fully onlineOffers: Audio Production (BS) · Music Production (BS) · Recording Arts (BS) · Live Event Production (BS) · Music Business (BS) · Film Production (BFA) · Game Design (BS) · Game Development (BS) · Computer Animation (BS) · Graphic Design (BS) · Digital Marketing (BS)What this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Public Relations/Image ManagementThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $30,500 | $42,719 | 71% |
| Ana G. Mendez UniversityFL · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationBachelor’s degree · Fully online | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Dallas Baptist UniversityTX · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationBachelor’s degree · Fully online | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Regis UniversityCO · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationBachelor’s degree · Fully online | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| San Jose State UniversityCA · PublicRequest information → | AdvertisingBachelor’s degree · Online or on campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Public Relations/Image ManagementThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
Source: College Scorecard, Field of Study (retrieved September 2026)
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One thing these figures cannot tell you
Earnings and debt are reported by the federal government at a four-digit program level, so a figure shown against “Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication” covers every related program at that institution rather than one named degree. That pooling also spans delivery: where a school runs the same credential both online and on campus, the federal figures combine both sets of students. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. Full methodology.