Rollins College Communications (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Communication and Media Studies
  • Private nonprofit college
  • Winter Park, FL
  • About 78 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Rollins College communications graduates earn about what communications graduates earn nationally, $36,285 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $26,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several Florida programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$36,28560th percentile of 577 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$58,18660% more than year one
Median federal debt$26,00010th lowest of 14 Florida programs
Debt-to-earnings72%Florida median 66%, national 69%

How it compares

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

Five years out, Rollins College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $7,580 more than the Florida median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Florida communications program

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

Rollins CollegeOther Florida programs

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 60% between the first and fifth year.

Rollins College grads, year 1$36,285
Rollins College grads, year 5$58,186
All Florida communications grads, year 5$50,606

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 $10,657 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$27,715Median debt $27,000
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$38,372Median debt $24,262

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $276 a month, or 9.1% 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. Separately, 27 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $47,000.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

64% of graduates (55 of 86) were working in Florida one year after graduating. Prices in the Orlando area are about 1% above the national average, so a $36,285 salary here buys what about $35,778 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 communications, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Public Relations Specialists

$63,660

Median pay in Florida. 17,820 people work in this job in Florida. 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%: $37,000Top 10%: $115,680

Fundraisers

$64,390

Median pay in Florida. 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%: $40,880Top 10%: $128,100

Editors

$73,950

Median pay in Florida. 3,790 people work in this job in Florida. 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%: $43,230Top 10%: $121,380

Public Relations Managers

$127,550

Median pay in Florida. 2,990 people work in this job in Florida. 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%: $73,050Top 10%: $215,050

About Rollins College

Communications ranks 7th of 16 bachelor's programs at Rollins College by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($69,707), Business ($51,001), and Teacher Education ($47,671).

Other communications bachelor's programs near Winter Park

Common questions

The median graduate earns $36,285 one year after graduating and $58,186 five years after. The median across communications bachelor's programs in Florida is $34,625.

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 Florida 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

  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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