Arkansas State Communications (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Communication and Media Studies
- Public university
- Jonesboro, AR
- About 16 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Arkansas State communications graduates earn more than graduates of most communications programs nationally, $40,192 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $21,250 in federal loans, less than at 78% of communications programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying communications degrees in Arkansas.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Arkansas and national columns are the medians across all communications bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Arkansas State graduates earn less than the national figure but about $2,548 more than the Arkansas median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Arkansas communications program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Arkansas medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 10% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $225 a month, or 6.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
68% of graduates (17 of 25) were working in Arkansas one year after graduating. Prices in the Jonesboro area are about 14% below the national average, so a $40,192 salary here buys what about $46,802 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to communications, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Public Relations Specialists
$65,000Median pay in Arkansas. 980 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 23,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Fundraisers
$50,190Median pay in Arkansas. 360 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Editors
$50,180Median pay in Arkansas. 260 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Public Relations Managers
$104,170Median pay in Arkansas. 340 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
About Arkansas State
Communications ranks 13th of 28 bachelor's programs at Arkansas State by first-year earnings. The top three are Mechanical Engineering ($74,284), Nursing ($73,423), and Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($60,202).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $40,192 one year after graduating and $44,327 five years after. The median across communications bachelor's programs in Arkansas is $33,417.
The median federal loan balance is $21,250, which ranks 2nd lowest of 7 communications bachelor's programs in Arkansas. That works out to about $225 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 53% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 69%.
Most do. 68% (17 of 25) were working in Arkansas one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Arkansas comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the communications program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024