How much debt do Emory University communications graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $21,000, which ranks 2nd lowest of 12 communications bachelor's programs in Georgia. That works out to about $223 a month over 10 years.

Is a communications degree from Emory University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 56% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 69%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Georgia programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

Emory University Communications (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Communication and Media Studies
Private nonprofit university
Atlanta, GA
About 1 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Emory University communications graduates earn about what communications graduates earn nationally, $37,237 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $21,000 in federal loans, less than at 79% of communications programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying communications degrees in Georgia.

First-year earnings$37,23766th percentile of 577 programs nationally

Median federal debt$21,0002nd lowest of 12 Georgia programs

Debt-to-earnings56%Georgia median 94%, national 69%

How it compares

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

	Emory University	Georgia	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$37,237	$33,286	$34,574
Median federal debt at graduation	$21,000	$28,427	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	56%	94%	69%
Programs compared		12	577

Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia communications program

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

Emory UniversityOther Georgia 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 $223 a month, or 7.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Atlanta area are about the same as the national average.

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

$73,200

Median pay in Georgia. 6,860 people work in this job in Georgia. 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%: $43,590Top 10%: $128,190

Fundraisers

$72,010

Median pay in Georgia. 2,690 people work in this job in Georgia. 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%: $48,160Top 10%: $104,460

Editors

$76,650

Median pay in Georgia. 1,920 people work in this job in Georgia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $46,080Top 10%: $124,000

Public Relations Managers

$134,500

Median pay in Georgia. 1,540 people work in this job in Georgia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $87,120Top 10%: $227,310

About Emory University

Tuition and fees	$64,280 / year
Average net price after aid	$22,585 / year
Admission rate	11%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	91%
Undergraduate students	7,298

Communications ranks 10th of 22 bachelor's programs at Emory University by first-year earnings. The top three are Business Administration ($85,682), Computer Science ($80,623), and Nursing ($79,073).

Other communications bachelor's programs near Atlanta

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit		$37,237	$21,000
Georgia StateAtlanta, GA · public	4 mi	$27,917	$27,854
Morehouse CollegeAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	6 mi	$26,839	$26,000
Clayton StateMorrow, GA · public	14 mi	$34,493	$35,000
Kennesaw StateKennesaw, GA · public	23 mi	$43,420	$30,022
University of North GeorgiaDahlonega, GA · public	55 mi	$38,237	$19,000
University of GeorgiaAthens, GA · public	56 mi	$44,283	$22,500

Common questions

The median graduate earns $37,237 one year after graduating. The median across communications bachelor's programs in Georgia is $33,286.

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 Georgia 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

Communications bachelor's programs in Georgia, ranked12 programs by pay and debt Communications bachelor's programs in the US, ranked577 programs by pay and debt All Emory University programs, ranked23 programs by pay and debt