How much debt do Southern University marketing graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $29,750, which ranks 11th lowest of 11 marketing bachelor's programs in Louisiana. That works out to about $315 a month over 10 years.

Is a marketing degree from Southern University worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 73% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 53%. Compare the cost with other Louisiana programs before deciding.

Southern University Marketing (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Marketing
Public university
Baton Rouge, LA
About 15 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Southern University marketing graduates earn about what marketing graduates earn nationally, $40,750 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $29,750 in federal loans, more than at 95% of marketing programs in the country. Two other Louisiana programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$40,75026th percentile of 471 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$24,99039% less than year one

Median federal debt$29,75011th lowest of 11 Louisiana programs

Debt-to-earnings73%Louisiana median 67%, national 53%

How it compares

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

	Southern University	Louisiana	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$40,750	$35,115	$44,567
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$24,990	$50,671	$64,125
Median federal debt at graduation	$29,750	$22,263	$24,250
Debt as share of first-year pay	73%	67%	53%
Programs compared		11	471

Five years out, Southern University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $25,681 less than the Louisiana median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Louisiana marketing program

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

Southern UniversityOther Louisiana 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 falls about 39% between the first and fifth year.

Southern University grads, year 1$40,750

Southern University grads, year 5$24,990

All Louisiana marketing grads, year 5$50,671

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $315 a month, or 9.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Baton Rouge area are about 9% below the national average, so a $40,750 salary here buys what about $44,889 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 marketing, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

$59,690

Median pay in Louisiana. 5,360 people work in this job in Louisiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 82,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $32,130Top 10%: $111,550

Sales Managers

$110,700

Median pay in Louisiana. 4,360 people work in this job in Louisiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 47,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $61,040Top 10%: $217,600

Marketing Managers

$120,650

Median pay in Louisiana. 940 people work in this job in Louisiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 34,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $72,800Top 10%: $208,180

Web and Digital Interface Designers

$68,790

Median pay in Louisiana. 170 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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.

Bottom 10%: $38,090Top 10%: $101,280

About Southern University

In-state tuition and fees	$9,922 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$17,272 / year
Average net price after aid	$20,077 / year
Admission rate	35%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	27%
Undergraduate students	5,519

Marketing ranks 6th of 16 bachelor's programs at Southern University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($79,871), Mechanical Engineering ($75,001), and Civil Engineering ($60,219).

Other marketing bachelor's programs near Baton Rouge

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Southern UniversityBaton Rouge, LA · public		$40,750	$29,750
LSUBaton Rouge, LA · public	8 mi	$40,219	$21,500
Southeastern Louisiana UniversityHammond, LA · public	43 mi	$40,650	$21,500
UL LafayetteLafayette, LA · public	54 mi	$34,778	$24,000
Nicholls StateThibodaux, LA · public	56 mi	$33,229	$23,025

Common questions

The median graduate earns $40,750 one year after graduating and $24,990 five years after. The median across marketing bachelor's programs in Louisiana is $35,115.

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 Louisiana 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 marketing 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

Marketing bachelor's programs in Louisiana, ranked11 programs by pay and debt Marketing bachelor's programs in the US, ranked471 programs by pay and debt All Southern University programs, ranked16 programs by pay and debt