Is a public relations and advertising degree from Marymount Manhattan College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 60% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 62%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several New York programs report higher pay.

Marymount Manhattan College Public Relations and Advertising (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Marymount Manhattan College public relations and advertising graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 6th lowest of 12 public relations and advertising bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.

Bachelor's in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication
Private nonprofit college
New York, NY
About 6 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Marymount Manhattan College public relations and advertising graduates earn about what public relations and advertising graduates earn nationally, $41,696 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,693. Several New York programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$41,69668th percentile of 179 programs nationally

Median federal debt$25,0006th lowest of 12 New York programs

Debt-to-earnings60%New York median 61%, national 62%

How it compares

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

	Marymount Manhattan College	New York	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$41,696	$38,828	$39,677
Median federal debt at graduation	$25,000	$25,000	$24,693
Debt as share of first-year pay	60%	61%	62%
Programs compared		12	179

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

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

Marymount Manhattan CollegeOther New York 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 $265 a month, or 7.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $41,696 salary here buys what about $37,042 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

$76,080

Median pay in New York. 27,460 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $40,220Top 10%: $133,620

Public Relations Specialists

$81,250

Median pay in New York. 28,250 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $51,730Top 10%: $157,610

Human Resources Managers

$176,650

Median pay in New York. 17,920 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $105,380Top 10%: $321,880

Fundraisers

$80,540

Median pay in New York. 11,600 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $53,670Top 10%: $132,510

About Marymount Manhattan College

Tuition and fees	$41,870 / year
Average net price after aid	$36,861 / year
Admission rate	83%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	49%
Undergraduate students	1,577

Public Relations and Advertising ranks 2nd of 8 bachelor's programs at Marymount Manhattan College by first-year earnings. The top three are Marketing ($48,403), Public Relations and Advertising ($41,696), and Psychology ($34,585).

Other public relations and advertising bachelor's programs near New York

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Marymount Manhattan CollegeNew York, NY · private nonprofit		$41,696	$25,000
Fashion Institute of TechnologyNew York, NY · public	2 mi	$36,849	$21,500
Pace UniversityNew York, NY · private nonprofit	5 mi	$44,485	$25,000
Manhattan UniversityRiverdale, NY · private nonprofit	9 mi	$26,502	$25,832
St. John's UniversityQueens, NY · private nonprofit	9 mi	$38,210	$26,848
Hofstra UniversityHempstead, NY · private nonprofit	19 mi	$42,030	$24,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $41,696 one year after graduating. The median across public relations and advertising bachelor's programs in New York is $38,828.

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 New York 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

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

Public Relations and Advertising bachelor's programs in New York, ranked12 programs by pay and debt Public Relations and Advertising bachelor's programs in the US, ranked179 programs by pay and debt All Marymount Manhattan College programs, ranked8 programs by pay and debt