Human Resources Management and Services at Concordia University-Chicago

At first glance, Concordia-Chicago's HR program appears to deliver reasonable outcomes—$51,763 in first-year earnings ranks at the 60th percentile among Illinois HR programs. However, the small sample size (fewer than 30 graduates tracked) makes it difficult to know whether these results are typical. What we can say is that graduates who entered this earnings data earned roughly the state median while carrying about $7,400 more debt than the typical Illinois HR graduate.

The debt picture deserves attention. While $34,419 isn't crushing relative to first-year earnings (a 0.66 ratio is manageable), it's notably higher than both the national and state benchmarks for HR programs. This matters because HR is a stable but not particularly high-paying field—the national median starts at $50,361. You're looking at the kind of career where every extra thousand in debt chips away at financial flexibility in those early years.

The real concern is the performance gap with other Illinois options. Top programs like Benedictine and Northwestern place graduates 60% higher in earnings, while schools like Rasmussen and Lewis achieve similar outcomes with less debt. With Concordia's 93% admission rate and the small cohort size in this program, parents should verify whether this specific major has adequate resources and employer connections. If your child is set on Concordia, the numbers here aren't disqualifying—but they suggest investigating whether similar programs at neighboring schools might deliver better value.