Which Illinois radio, TV, and digital media program has the lowest debt?

Northwestern University reports the lowest median federal debt, $15,500, with first-year pay of $24,611.

How much do radio, TV, and digital media graduates earn in Illinois?

The median across 8 Illinois radio, TV, and digital media bachelor's programs is $26,845 in the first year after graduating and $45,151 five years after.

How many radio, TV, and digital media bachelor's programs are in Illinois?

8 Illinois programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

Radio, TV, and Digital Media (Bachelor's) Programs in Illinois, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

8 programs report first-year pay
8 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Radio, Television, and Digital Communication

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Illinois radio, TV, and digital media bachelor's program pays its graduates $26,845 in their first year, $2,789 less than the national median. Bradley University reports the highest first-year pay ($32,742), and Northwestern University the lowest median debt ($15,500).

Median first-year pay$26,845National $29,633

Median pay after 5 years$45,151National $47,705

Median federal debt$26,210National $24,250

Debt-to-earnings98%National 78%

All 8 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Bradley UniversityPeoria · private nonprofit	$32,742	$48,446	$27,000	82%
2	North Central CollegeNaperville · private nonprofit	$30,167	Not reported	$27,000	90%
3	Chicago StateChicago · public	$28,643	Not reported	$38,434	134%
4	Western Illinois UniversityMacomb · public	$27,462	$45,151	$29,054	106%
5	Loyola ChicagoChicago · private nonprofit	$26,227	Not reported	$25,000	95%
6	Southern Illinois University-CarbondaleCarbondale · public	$25,057	$38,390	$25,025	100%
7	Northwestern UniversityEvanston · private nonprofit	$24,611	$50,861	$15,500	63%
8	Columbia College ChicagoChicago · private nonprofit	$24,191	$44,985	$25,420	105%

Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois radio, TV, and digital media program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Northwestern University$15,500
Loyola Chicago$25,000
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale$25,025
Columbia College Chicago$25,420
Bradley University$27,000

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to radio, TV, and digital media, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Producers and Directors

$81,080

Median pay in Illinois. 3,170 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $41,250Top 10%: $169,040

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

News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists

$60,590

Median pay in Illinois. 1,060 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $36,680Top 10%: $140,620

Film and Video Editors

$72,460

Median pay in Illinois. 310 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $46,710Top 10%: $116,720

Common questions

Bradley University in Peoria reports the highest median first-year pay, $32,742. Its median federal debt is $27,000.

Radio, TV, and Digital Media (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked127 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the radio, TV, and digital media bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024