US College Programs

Journalism (Bachelor's) Programs in Michigan, 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 Michigan journalism bachelor's program pays its graduates $31,845 in their first year, $2,670 less than the national median. Michigan State reports the highest first-year pay ($36,912), and Michigan State the lowest median debt ($24,985).

Median first-year pay$31,845National $34,515
Median pay after 5 years$49,213National $53,282
Median federal debt$27,000National $24,500
Debt-to-earnings97%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.

Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan journalism program

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

  1. Michigan State$36,912
  2. Oakland University$35,545
  3. Eastern Michigan University$31,845
  4. Wayne State$26,591
  5. Central Michigan University$25,033

Lowest median debt

  1. Michigan State$24,985
  2. Oakland University$26,000
  3. Central Michigan University$27,000
  4. Wayne State$29,000
  5. Eastern Michigan University$30,735

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. Michigan State68%
  2. Oakland University73%
  3. Eastern Michigan University97%
  4. Central Michigan University108%
  5. Wayne State109%

"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

$63,090

Median pay in Michigan. 1,690 people work in this job in Michigan. 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%: $33,230Top 10%: $99,980

Photographers

$44,660

Median pay nationwide. 970 people work in this job in Michigan. 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.

Writers and Authors

$76,910

Median pay nationwide. 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.

News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists

$62,760

Median pay in Michigan. 960 people work in this job in Michigan. 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%: $35,400Top 10%: $144,750

Common questions

Michigan State in East Lansing reports the highest median first-year pay, $36,912. Its median federal debt is $24,985.

Related pages

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 Michigan 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

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024