Free tool · federal data
What does this major pay at different colleges?
Pick a major, a degree level and a state. You get what graduates of each college's program earned four years after graduating and what they borrowed in federal loans, from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, with the national median for the same program as the yardstick.
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Communications, bachelor's programs in Illinois
Among 19 Illinois bachelor's programs in Communications with federal earnings data, Northwestern University graduates earn the highest median, $93,541 four years after graduating, with a median federal debt of $17,687. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign follows at $66,439. The national median for bachelor's graduates in the same program is $56,359. (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard.)
- Programs with data
- 19
- Highest median
- $93,541
- National median
- $56,359
| College | Median earnings, 4 yrs after | vs national median | Debt borrowed at this college (median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern University | $93,541 | +66% | $17,687 |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | $66,439 | +18% | $18,850 |
| Lake Forest College | $64,580 | +15% | $27,000 |
| Augustana College | $63,730 | +13% | $26,375 |
| Wheaton College | $60,695 | +8% | $23,250 |
| Illinois State University | $60,414 | +7% | $19,500 |
| Loyola University Chicago | $58,256 | +3% | $23,000 |
| Eastern Illinois University | $57,887 | +3% | $23,676 |
| University of Illinois Chicago | $56,845 | about the same | $19,224 |
| DePaul University | $56,014 | about the same | $20,834 |
| Northern Illinois University | $55,109 | about the same | $23,812 |
| University of Illinois Springfield | $52,588 | −7% | $16,635 |
| Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville | $52,466 | −7% | $20,500 |
| Western Illinois University | $51,203 | −9% | $28,170 |
| Aurora University | $50,079 | −11% | $19,653 |
| Northeastern Illinois University | $48,247 | −14% | $15,000 |
| Benedictine University | $47,664 | −15% | $25,000 |
| Governors State University | $47,475 | −16% | $17,250 |
| Saint Xavier University | $44,312 | −21% | $21,662 |
Ordered by median earnings four years after graduating: one federal measure, not a ranking of program quality.
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Same major, other degree levels in Illinois: Master's
What these numbers are
Earnings: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars. Only programs with at least 30 graduates in the earnings cohort are listed, and a multi-state system whose figure pools campuses in several states is left out of state lists. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education. Federal program group: Communication and Media Studies. Earnings reflect who enrolls and where graduates work as well as the program itself.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field-of-study data, 10 June 2026. Download every program (CSV).