University of South Carolina Communications (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Communication and Media Studies
- Public university
- Columbia, SC
- About 89 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of South Carolina communications graduates earn about what communications graduates earn nationally, $35,586 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,500 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Two other South Carolina programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The South Carolina and national columns are the medians across all communications bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every South Carolina communications program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the South Carolina medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned more in their first year than other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $27,000 against $23,530.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $270 a month, or 9.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
27 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $51,100.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
60% of graduates (45 of 75) were working in South Carolina one year after graduating. Prices in the Columbia area are about 6% below the national average, so a $35,586 salary here buys what about $37,994 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
$62,730Median pay in South Carolina. 2,950 people work in this job in South Carolina. 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
$62,720Median pay in South Carolina. 1,200 people work in this job in South Carolina. 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
$62,000Median pay in South Carolina. 500 people work in this job in South Carolina. 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
$104,920Median pay in South Carolina. 650 people work in this job in South Carolina. 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 South Carolina
Communications ranks 34th of 56 bachelor's programs at University of South Carolina by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($77,161), Chemical Engineering ($75,680), and Computer Engineering ($73,982).
Other communications bachelor's programs near Columbia
Common questions
The median graduate earns $35,586 one year after graduating. The median across communications bachelor's programs in South Carolina is $34,456.
The median federal loan balance is $25,500, which ranks 4th lowest of 11 communications bachelor's programs in South Carolina. That works out to about $270 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 72% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 69%. Compare the cost with other South Carolina programs before deciding.
Most do. 60% (45 of 75) were working in South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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