Is a Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication degree worth it?
Across 157 schools, graduates of Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication earn a median $58,670 five years out on $23,250 of debt — most often working as Training and Development Specialists. Every figure is a real, published federal number.
Median 5-yr pay
$58,670
Median debt
$23,250
Years to pay off
3.7
at 10% of pay
AI task exposure
55%
GPT-4-era overlap
10-yr job growth
+6%
BLS 2024–2034
Gender pay gap
5.1%
$63,971 vs $60,727
Net price
$20,925/yr
Debt-test failures
2.9%
of programs
'Real' premium
−$2,746
vs avg, adjusted
See where this degree leads, who's hiring, and whether the pay covers the rent.
Explore Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication in full →Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, O*NET, AI-exposure measures (Eloundou/AIOE), Zillow. Earnings reflect federally-aided graduates; see the full story for methodology and limitations.