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

  • Bachelor's in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication
  • Private nonprofit university
  • Springfield, MO
  • About 6 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Drury University public relations and advertising graduates earn less than graduates of most public relations and advertising programs nationally, $33,862 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $23,250 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,693. Several Missouri programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$33,86216th percentile of 179 programs nationally
Median federal debt$23,250The lowest of 5 Missouri programs
Debt-to-earnings69%Missouri median 66%, national 62%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Missouri 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 Missouri public relations and advertising program

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

Drury UniversityOther Missouri 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 $246 a month, or 8.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Springfield area are about 11% below the national average, so a $33,862 salary here buys what about $38,225 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

$58,670

Median pay in Missouri. 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%: $31,720Top 10%: $100,670

Public Relations Specialists

$61,130

Median pay in Missouri. 4,820 people work in this job in Missouri. 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%: $38,490Top 10%: $102,850

Human Resources Managers

$130,680

Median pay in Missouri. 3,510 people work in this job in Missouri. 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%: $81,730Top 10%: $225,160

Fundraisers

$63,860

Median pay in Missouri. 1,670 people work in this job in Missouri. 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%: $44,290Top 10%: $100,090

About Drury University

Public Relations and Advertising ranks 6th of 11 bachelor's programs at Drury University by first-year earnings. The top three are Architecture ($54,723), Business Administration ($43,374), and Criminal Justice ($38,014).

Other public relations and advertising bachelor's programs near Springfield

Common questions

The median graduate earns $33,862 one year after graduating. The median across public relations and advertising bachelor's programs in Missouri is $39,401.

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 Missouri 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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