University of Minnesota-Crookston Communications (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Communication and Media Studies
- Public university
- Crookston, MN
- About 24 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release ยท BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of Minnesota-Crookston communications graduates earn more than graduates of most communications programs nationally, $42,458 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,288 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several Minnesota programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Minnesota and national columns are the medians across all communications bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Minnesota communications program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Minnesota medians.
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 $268 a month, or 7.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
70% of graduates (23 of 33) were working in Minnesota one year after graduating. Prices in the Grand Forks area are about 13% below the national average, so a $42,458 salary here buys what about $48,992 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
$68,620Median pay in Minnesota. 8,260 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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.
Fundraisers
$76,910Median pay in Minnesota. 3,190 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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.
Editors
$62,650Median pay in Minnesota. 1,970 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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.
Public Relations Managers
$139,040Median pay in Minnesota. 1,230 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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.
About University of Minnesota-Crookston
Communications ranks 10th of 15 bachelor's programs at University of Minnesota-Crookston by first-year earnings. The top three are Other Business ($82,115), Health and Medical Administration ($61,965), and Business Administration ($58,805).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $42,458 one year after graduating. The median across communications bachelor's programs in Minnesota is $40,423.
The median federal loan balance is $25,288, which ranks 8th lowest of 18 communications bachelor's programs in Minnesota. That works out to about $268 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 60% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 69%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Minnesota programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 70% (23 of 33) were working in Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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
- 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