Northwestern University Radio, TV, and Digital Media (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Radio, Television, and Digital Communication
- Private nonprofit university
- Evanston, IL
- About 247 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Northwestern University radio, TV, and digital media graduates earn less than graduates of most radio, TV, and digital media programs nationally, $24,611 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $15,500 in federal loans, less than at 90% of radio, TV, and digital media programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Illinois median of $26,845.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Illinois and national columns are the medians across all radio, TV, and digital media bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Northwestern University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $5,710 more than the Illinois median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois radio, TV, and digital media program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Illinois 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 107% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $3,748 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $164 a month, or 8.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
43% of graduates (30 of 70) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $24,611 salary here buys what about $23,757 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 radio, TV, and digital media, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Producers and Directors
$81,080Median pay in Illinois. 3,170 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Web and Digital Interface Designers
$85,710Median pay in Illinois. 2,050 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists
$60,590Median pay in Illinois. 1,060 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Film and Video Editors
$72,460Median pay in Illinois. 310 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Northwestern University
Radio, TV, and Digital Media ranks 28th of 29 bachelor's programs at Northwestern University by first-year earnings. The top three are Information Science ($102,998), Computer Science ($99,981), and Applied Mathematics ($94,684).
Other radio, TV, and digital media bachelor's programs near Evanston
Common questions
The median graduate earns $24,611 one year after graduating and $50,861 five years after. The median across radio, TV, and digital media bachelor's programs in Illinois is $26,845.
The median federal loan balance is $15,500, which ranks the lowest of 8 radio, TV, and digital media bachelor's programs in Illinois. That works out to about $164 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 63% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 78%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Illinois programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Many leave. 43% (30 of 70) were working in Illinois 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 Illinois 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 radio, TV, and digital media 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