How much debt do UIC marketing graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $18,750, which ranks 2nd lowest of 21 marketing bachelor's programs in Illinois. That works out to about $199 a month over 10 years.

Is a marketing degree from UIC worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 44% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 53%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Illinois programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

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

Q: Do UIC marketing graduates stay in Illinois?

Most do. 93% (184 of 198) were working in Illinois one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Marketing
Public university
Chicago, IL
About 206 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

UIC marketing graduates earn about what marketing graduates earn nationally, $42,782 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $18,750 in federal loans, less than at 90% of marketing programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying marketing degrees in Illinois.

First-year earnings$42,78238th percentile of 471 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$66,98757% more than year one

Median federal debt$18,7502nd lowest of 21 Illinois programs

Debt-to-earnings44%Illinois median 49%, national 53%

How it compares

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

	UIC	Illinois	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$42,782	$43,606	$44,567
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$66,987	$64,164	$64,125
Median federal debt at graduation	$18,750	$23,946	$24,250
Debt as share of first-year pay	44%	49%	53%
Programs compared		22	471

Five years out, UIC graduates earn more than the national figure and about $2,823 more than the Illinois median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois marketing program

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

UICOther Illinois 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 57% between the first and fifth year.

UIC grads, year 1$42,782

UIC grads, year 5$66,987

All Illinois marketing grads, year 5$64,164

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 about the same in their first year as other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$42,779Median debt $19,250

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$43,400Median debt $17,750

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $199 a month, or 5.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (126 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	10–19%
Paying down the balance	50–59%
Paused payments (forbearance)	10–19%
In default	10% or less

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, 49 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $22,267.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

93% of graduates (184 of 198) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $42,782 salary here buys what about $41,297 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

$79,120

Median pay in Illinois. 40,560 people work in this job in Illinois. 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%: $46,970Top 10%: $139,110

Sales Managers

$155,280

Median pay in Illinois. 32,240 people work in this job in Illinois. 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%: $78,760Top 10%: $282,890

Marketing Managers

$162,860

Median pay in Illinois. 21,140 people work in this job in Illinois. 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%: $95,990Top 10%: $276,340

Web and Digital Interface Designers

$85,710

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $58,090Top 10%: $157,670

About UIC

In-state tuition and fees	$14,338 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$29,884 / year
Average net price after aid	$10,974 / year
Admission rate	77%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	62%
Undergraduate students	22,170

Marketing ranks 19th of 46 bachelor's programs at UIC by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($78,040), Nursing ($75,045), and Electrical Engineering ($72,926).

Other marketing bachelor's programs near Chicago

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
UICChicago, IL · public		$42,782	$18,750
DePaul UniversityChicago, IL · private nonprofit	1 mi	$50,012	$25,000
Columbia College ChicagoChicago, IL · private nonprofit	1 mi	$36,386	$26,250
Roosevelt UniversityChicago, IL · private nonprofit	1 mi	$42,720	$23,869
Northeastern Illinois UniversityChicago, IL · public	8 mi	$43,320	$15,000
Loyola ChicagoChicago, IL · private nonprofit	9 mi	$51,065	$25,000
Saint Xavier UniversityChicago, IL · private nonprofit	12 mi	$43,892	$26,047
Elmhurst UniversityElmhurst, IL · private nonprofit	15 mi	$40,074	$19,000
Purdue NorthwestHammond, IN · public	22 mi	$41,942	$25,437

Common questions

The median graduate earns $42,782 one year after graduating and $66,987 five years after. The median across marketing bachelor's programs in Illinois is $43,606.

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 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 Illinois, ranked22 programs by pay and debt Marketing bachelor's programs in the US, ranked471 programs by pay and debt All UIC programs, ranked46 programs by pay and debt