Marketing at Francis Marion University

The small sample size here demands caution, but the numbers suggest Francis Marion's marketing program struggles to launch graduates into competitive starting salaries. At $32,494, first-year earnings fall roughly $12,000 below what typical South Carolina marketing graduates earn and trail the national median by $12,234. Even among in-state options, this program sits at the 40th percentile—meaning most South Carolina marketing programs produce better immediate outcomes. The debt load of $30,125, while not catastrophic, exceeds both state and national norms for this major, creating a debt-to-earnings ratio that means graduates owe nearly a full year's salary.

For context, USC-Columbia's marketing graduates earn $52,374 in their first year—60% more than Francis Marion's reported figure. Even smaller schools like Anderson University match or exceed the state median. The relatively high Pell grant percentage at Francis Marion (39%) indicates the school serves many students who need strong ROI, yet these earnings place graduates in the bottom 5% nationally. That's a tough starting point for building financial stability, particularly when competing for jobs against graduates from higher-ranked programs.

With fewer than 30 graduates in this dataset, these figures might not tell the complete story. If your student is set on Francis Marion, dig deeper: request placement rates, talk to recent alumni, and understand what specific career support exists. But based on available data, this program appears to underperform relative to both state and national alternatives.