Western Kentucky University Public Relations and Advertising (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication
- Public university
- Bowling Green, KY
- About 68 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Western Kentucky University public relations and advertising graduates earn less than graduates of most public relations and advertising programs nationally, $35,534 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,693. Several Kentucky programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Kentucky and national columns are the medians across all public relations and advertising bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Western Kentucky University graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Kentucky median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Kentucky public relations and advertising program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Kentucky medians.
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 38% between the first and fifth year.
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 slightly more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $265 a month, or 8.9% 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, 36 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $20,284.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
59% of graduates (46 of 78) were working in Kentucky one year after graduating. Prices in the Bowling Green area are about 10% below the national average, so a $35,534 salary here buys what about $39,404 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 public relations and advertising, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Training and Development Specialists
$61,390Median pay in Kentucky. 6,090 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 46,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Public Relations Specialists
$60,150Median pay in Kentucky. 2,580 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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.
Human Resources Managers
$121,460Median pay in Kentucky. 1,960 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Fundraisers
$68,270Median pay in Kentucky. 1,030 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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.
About Western Kentucky University
Public Relations and Advertising ranks 26th of 45 bachelor's programs at Western Kentucky University by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($74,205), Mechanical Engineering ($70,722), and Nursing ($68,294).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $35,534 one year after graduating and $49,056 five years after. The median across public relations and advertising bachelor's programs in Kentucky is $36,794.
The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 5th lowest of 6 public relations and advertising bachelor's programs in Kentucky. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 70% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 62%. Compare the cost with other Kentucky programs before deciding.
Most do. 59% (46 of 78) were working in Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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 public relations and advertising 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