Biola University Public Relations and Advertising (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication
  • Private nonprofit university
  • La Mirada, CA
  • About 30 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Biola University public relations and advertising graduates earn about what public relations and advertising graduates earn nationally, $36,319 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $21,104 in federal loans, less than at 85% of public relations and advertising programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying public relations and advertising degrees in California.

First-year earnings$36,31926th percentile of 179 programs nationally
Median federal debt$21,1044th lowest of 10 California programs
Debt-to-earnings58%California median 57%, national 62%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all public relations and advertising bachelor's programs that report the figure.

Debt and first-year pay at every California public relations and advertising program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.

Biola UniversityOther California programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $224 a month, or 7.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

83% of graduates (24 of 29) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Los Angeles area are about 14% above the national average, so a $36,319 salary here buys what about $31,981 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 public relations and advertising, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Training and Development Specialists

$75,790

Median pay in California. 46,530 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 46,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $43,320Top 10%: $134,270

Public Relations Specialists

$85,030

Median pay in California. 32,710 people work in this job in California. 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.

Bottom 10%: $49,550Top 10%: $160,520

Human Resources Managers

$170,080

Median pay in California. 27,450 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $96,430Top 10%: $307,600

Fundraisers

$79,710

Median pay in California. 12,860 people work in this job in California. 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.

Bottom 10%: $50,340Top 10%: $131,720

About Biola University

Public Relations and Advertising ranks 7th of 17 bachelor's programs at Biola University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($93,629), Accounting ($65,246), and Business ($46,300).

Other public relations and advertising bachelor's programs near La Mirada

Common questions

The median graduate earns $36,319 one year after graduating. The median across public relations and advertising bachelor's programs in California is $39,470.

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 California 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 public relations and advertising program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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