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

Ames, IA · Bachelor's Degree · about 80 graduates a year

$42,530
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$62,965
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$63,560
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#82 of 178
Rank by pay
#70 of 178
Rank, wage-adjusted
$23,125
Median federal debt

Iowa State University graduates in public relations, advertising, and applied communication earn 1% less than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 37% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Iowa 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
…
79The University of Tampa Tampa, FL$63,368$67,447#61$36,977
80The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN$63,314$69,164#49$42,173
81Drake University Des Moines, IA$63,302$66,586#66$44,492
82Iowa State University Ames, IA$62,965$66,232#70$42,530
83University of Kentucky Lexington, KY$62,754$71,057#43$45,275
84Rowan University Glassboro, NJ$62,661$54,997#152$35,116
85Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT$62,580$56,342#140$35,444

Other Majors at Iowa State University by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Computer Engineering$105,753$79,182#96 of 189
Computer Science$104,211$78,517#143 of 349
Construction Engineering$100,676$77,845#8 of 13
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$99,705$84,913#111 of 258
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering$94,089$75,036#41 of 59
Business/Managerial Economics$93,379—#16 of 84
Industrial Engineering$92,914$74,310#65 of 94
Chemical Engineering$92,773$76,184#109 of 158
Agricultural Engineering$88,576$72,376#6 of 26
Management Information Systems and Services$87,413—#64 of 166
Mechanical Engineering$85,938$72,900#276 of 318
Civil Engineering$85,427$72,502#112 of 233
Materials Engineering$83,416$65,831#31 of 34
Computer and Information Sciences$83,267$60,397#243 of 459
Engineering-Related Fields$82,548$62,416#28 of 33
Agricultural Mechanization$78,890$63,321#1 of 10
Business Administration, Management and Operations$78,304$57,188#173 of 1176
Finance and Financial Management Services$75,360$56,974#254 of 452
Economics$75,355$57,619#224 of 368
Statistics$72,581$53,132#46 of 50
Accounting and Related Services$70,706$58,479#466 of 796
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies$69,673—#4 of 137
Architecture$69,310$54,957#31 of 78
Agricultural Business and Management$67,529$53,967#27 of 77
Chemistry$66,486$43,870#105 of 209
Marketing$66,482$48,304#262 of 516
Food Science and Technology$65,943$60,351#21 of 29
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences$65,204$50,150#47 of 138
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology$63,026$43,520#70 of 110
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies$62,341—#8 of 19

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Graduates earn a median $42,530 one year after graduating and $62,965 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

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

Among 178 colleges reporting earnings for public relations, advertising, and applied communication graduates, Iowa State University ranks #82 by median pay four years after graduation, and #70 after adjusting for state wage levels.

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

Its graduates earn 1% less than the national median for public relations, advertising, and applied communication ($63,560), and the median federal debt at graduation is $23,125.

← All data for Iowa 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.