Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication at Illinois State University

Normal, IL · Bachelor's Degree · about 65 graduates a year

$43,874
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$67,752
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$63,560
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#53 of 178
Rank by pay
#68 of 178
Rank, wage-adjusted
$21,500
Median federal debt

Illinois State University graduates in public relations, advertising, and applied communication earn 7% more than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 32% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Illinois State University Compares for Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication

All 178 colleges reporting public relations, advertising, and applied communication earnings at this degree level, ranked by median pay four years after graduation. “Wage-adjusted” divides pay by the square root of the state’s wage index so colleges in low-wage states aren’t penalized for local pay.

#College4 yrs afterWage-adjustedAdj. rank1 yr after
1Syracuse University Syracuse, NY$90,535$86,171#3$54,934
2Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX$89,330$90,822#1$51,828
3University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA$87,946$80,025#11$50,041
4George Washington University Washington, DC$85,459$74,884#27—
5University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL$83,451$81,990#8$48,063
6University of Miami Coral Gables, FL$82,999$88,342#2$43,917
7Pepperdine University Malibu, CA$81,417$74,084#28$45,988
8University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA$81,285$73,964#31$37,856
9Brigham Young University Provo, UT$80,841$76,618#21$51,436
10The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX$80,221$81,561#9$47,972
…
50Northwood University Midland, MI$68,008$71,707#40$41,857
51Howard University Washington, DC$67,881$59,481#119$39,120
52Temple University Philadelphia, PA$67,840$68,994#50$41,165
53Illinois State University Normal, IL$67,752$66,566#68$43,874
54St. John's University-New York Queens, NY$67,728$64,463#85$38,210
55Long Island University Brookville, NY$67,704$64,440#86—
56Washington State University Pullman, WA$67,647$62,221#104$45,820

Other Majors at Illinois State University by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Computer Science$111,099$81,363#111 of 349
Computer and Information Sciences$98,382$65,127#128 of 459
Management Information Systems and Services$95,120$52,887#36 of 166
Insurance$94,124$51,499#8 of 21
Construction Management$91,017$70,672#38 of 57
Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications$90,953$66,801#7 of 37
Finance and Financial Management Services$85,326$54,958#136 of 452
Public Health$84,790$59,207#7 of 215
Accounting and Related Services$84,458$62,940#188 of 796
Physics$81,949—#42 of 107
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$81,264$72,709#679 of 966
Engineering Technologies/Technicians$80,530$55,532#13 of 34
Marketing$77,956$51,687#93 of 516
Energy Systems Technologies/Technicians$76,731$46,992—
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians$76,121$51,839#38 of 51
Mathematics$75,318$52,597#114 of 309
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions$73,220$65,629#56 of 93
Health and Medical Administrative Services$71,707$48,886#61 of 275
International Business$71,058$52,491#68 of 115
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods$70,671$47,553#103 of 126
Geography and Cartography$69,383$34,952#15 of 117
Business Administration, Management and Operations$66,660$50,647#496 of 1176
Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences$65,669$34,154#23 of 35
Biology$63,725$36,337#224 of 841
Agriculture$63,600$47,295#5 of 43
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services$62,510—#59 of 215
Criminal Justice and Corrections$62,506$37,584#91 of 660
Apparel and Textiles$62,339$37,111#16 of 57
Chemistry$62,220—#144 of 209
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness$62,112$30,051#91 of 610

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Illinois State University public relations, advertising, and applied communication graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $43,874 one year after graduating and $67,752 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does Illinois State University rank for public relations, advertising, and applied communication?

Among 178 colleges reporting earnings for public relations, advertising, and applied communication graduates, Illinois State University ranks #53 by median pay four years after graduation, and #68 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is public relations, advertising, and applied communication at Illinois State University worth it?

Its graduates earn 7% more than the national median for public relations, advertising, and applied communication ($63,560), and the median federal debt at graduation is $21,500.

← All data for Illinois State University · Methodology

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study data. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled; programs with few graduates are not reported. Wage adjustment uses Census ACS state median household income.