Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations at Benedictine University

A bachelor's in entrepreneurship at Benedictine comes with an estimated debt load of $25,396—slightly above the national median for this degree—for first-year earnings that peer programs nationally suggest will land around $45,265. That 0.56 debt-to-earnings ratio sits in workable territory, meaning graduates would need roughly half a year's income to cover their loans. For a four-year degree, that's not alarming, though it's worth noting that entrepreneurship degrees don't always follow traditional employment paths where these salary benchmarks matter most.

The bigger question is whether this credential serves someone planning to start a business. Nationwide, entrepreneurship bachelor's programs produce remarkably consistent outcomes—the gap between median and top-performing programs is just $5,500. Loyola's reported figure of $45,869 tracks almost exactly with what similar programs suggest for Benedictine. That consistency might reflect a field where formal credentials matter less than execution, networks, and capital access. Students taking traditional jobs after graduation appear to earn in the mid-$40s regardless of where they studied.

If your child plans to launch a venture immediately, the $25,000 debt becomes a liability that eats into startup capital and reduces risk tolerance. If they're building business skills for corporate roles first, the numbers work, but they're paying bachelor's-degree prices for outcomes that don't exceed what many business administration programs deliver at lower cost.