Online Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Master’s degree
20 programs — 8 with federal cost data, the rest suppressed for small class sizes and listed after them, ordered by median debt against median earnings — lowest first.
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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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State UniversityFL · PublicRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationMaster’s degree · Fully online | $31,020 | $77,547 | 40% |
| Georgetown UniversityDC · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations/Image ManagementMaster’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. | $49,149 | $115,091 | 43% |
| Boston UniversityMA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | AdvertisingMaster’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 ManagementHealth CommunicationPublic Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication, OtherThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $39,224 | $90,212 | 43% |
| George Washington UniversityDC · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Political CommunicationMaster’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 ManagementHealth CommunicationAdvertisingPublic Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $51,254 | $101,932 | 50% |
| Webster UniversityMO · Private nonprofitRequest information → | AdvertisingMaster’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/Image ManagementSports CommunicationCommunication Management and Strategic CommunicationsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $59,664 | $67,174 | 89% |
| Drexel UniversityPA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationMaster’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. | — | $70,518 | — |
| Sacred Heart UniversityCT · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationMaster’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:Sports CommunicationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | — | $71,686 | — |
| St. John's University-New YorkNY · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication, OtherMaster’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:AdvertisingInternational and Intercultural CommunicationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | — | $71,471 | — |
| Ana G. Mendez UniversityFL · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationMaster’s degree · Fully online | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Biola UniversityCA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationMaster’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/Image ManagementThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Central Connecticut State UniversityCT · PublicRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationMaster’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. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| East Texas Baptist UniversityTX · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Communication Management and Strategic CommunicationsMaster’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, GeneralPublic Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Inter American University of Puerto Rico-PoncePR · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations/Image ManagementMaster’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. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Loyola University New OrleansLA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationMaster’s degree · Fully online | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Mississippi CollegeMS · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Sports CommunicationMaster’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/Image ManagementHealth CommunicationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Saint Peter's UniversityNJ · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationMaster’s degree · Fully online | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Temple UniversityPA · PublicRequest information → | AdvertisingMaster’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 Communication, OtherOrganizational Communication, GeneralSports CommunicationInternational and Intercultural CommunicationHealth CommunicationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| The University of AlabamaAL · PublicRequest information → | Public Relations/Image ManagementMaster’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. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignIL · PublicRequest information → | AdvertisingMaster’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. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of West FloridaFL · PublicRequest information → | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationMaster’s degree · Fully online | 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.