Which Massachusetts journalism program has the lowest debt?

Northeastern University reports the lowest median federal debt, $24,313, with first-year pay of $51,855.

How much do journalism graduates earn in Massachusetts?

The median across 5 Massachusetts journalism bachelor's programs is $39,703 in the first year after graduating and $62,161 five years after.

How many journalism bachelor's programs are in Massachusetts?

5 Massachusetts programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

Journalism (Bachelor's) Programs in Massachusetts, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

5 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Journalism

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Massachusetts journalism bachelor's program pays its graduates $39,703 in their first year, $5,188 more than the national median. Northeastern University reports the highest first-year pay ($51,855), and Northeastern University the lowest median debt ($24,313).

Median first-year pay$39,703National $34,515

Median pay after 5 years$62,161National $53,282

Median federal debt$24,813National $24,500

Debt-to-earnings62%National 67%

All 5 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	Northeastern UniversityBoston · private nonprofit	$51,855	$62,784	$24,313	47%
2	Boston UniversityBoston · private nonprofit	$42,857	$73,406	$24,813	58%
3	Emerson CollegeBoston · private nonprofit	$39,703	$61,538	$24,580	62%
4	UMass AmherstAmherst · public	$37,091	$58,874	$25,447	69%
5	Suffolk UniversityBoston · private nonprofit	$33,628	Not reported	$27,000	80%

Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts journalism program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

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 journalism, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Editors

$83,170

Median pay in Massachusetts. 3,100 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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.

Bottom 10%: $47,320Top 10%: $136,360

Photographers

$57,990

Median pay in Massachusetts. 830 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $38,480Top 10%: $112,760

Writers and Authors

$85,260

Median pay in Massachusetts. 1,350 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $58,910Top 10%: $138,950

News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists

$62,200

Median pay nationwide. 810 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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.

Common questions

Northeastern University in Boston reports the highest median first-year pay, $51,855. Its median federal debt is $24,313.

Journalism (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked170 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 Massachusetts rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the journalism 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