How much debt do Pepperdine University writing and rhetoric graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $24,027, which ranks 9th lowest of 9 writing and rhetoric bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $255 a month over 10 years.

Is a writing and rhetoric degree from Pepperdine University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 72% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 82%.

Pepperdine University Writing and Rhetoric (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
Private nonprofit university
Malibu, CA
About 13 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Pepperdine University writing and rhetoric graduates earn about what writing and rhetoric graduates earn nationally, $33,228 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,027 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Two other California programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$33,22867th percentile of 110 programs nationally

Median federal debt$24,0279th lowest of 9 California programs

Debt-to-earnings72%California median 70%, national 82%

How it compares

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

	Pepperdine University	California	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$33,228	$27,681	$28,430
Median federal debt at graduation	$24,027	$16,500	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	72%	70%	82%
Programs compared		10	110

Debt and first-year pay at every California writing and rhetoric program

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

Pepperdine 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 $255 a month, or 9.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Los Angeles area are about 14% above the national average, so a $33,228 salary here buys what about $29,259 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 writing and rhetoric, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Editors

$98,030

Median pay in California. 14,830 people work in this job in California. 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%: $52,510Top 10%: $173,590

Writers and Authors

$86,480

Median pay in California. 8,390 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $56,730Top 10%: $193,080

Technical Writers

$104,000

Median pay in California. 5,280 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $69,630Top 10%: $175,510

Proofreaders and Copy Markers

$57,490

Median pay in California. 300 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $34,320Top 10%: $81,500

About Pepperdine University

Tuition and fees	$69,918 / year
Average net price after aid	$58,098 / year
Admission rate	63%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	83%
Undergraduate students	3,553

Writing and Rhetoric ranks 9th of 12 bachelor's programs at Pepperdine University by first-year earnings. The top three are Business Administration ($69,751), Economics ($54,267), and Communications ($48,398).

Other writing and rhetoric bachelor's programs near Malibu

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Pepperdine UniversityMalibu, CA · private nonprofit		$33,228	$24,027
USCLos Angeles, CA · private nonprofit	24 mi	$26,636	$19,500
Cal State LALos Angeles, CA · public	31 mi	$28,725	$13,500
Cal State Long BeachLong Beach, CA · public	38 mi	$21,854	$15,394

Common questions

The median graduate earns $33,228 one year after graduating. The median across writing and rhetoric bachelor's programs in California is $27,681.

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 writing and rhetoric 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

Writing and Rhetoric bachelor's programs in California, ranked10 programs by pay and debt Writing and Rhetoric bachelor's programs in the US, ranked110 programs by pay and debt All Pepperdine University programs, ranked12 programs by pay and debt