Communication and Media Studies at Hamline University

Hamline's communication program punches well above its weight nationally but lands in the middle of Minnesota's surprisingly strong communications landscape. At $42,201 starting salary, graduates earn 21% more than the national median for this major, placing them in the 87th percentile nationally. However, among the 29 Minnesota programs, this ranks only at the 60th percentile—roughly average for a state where communications majors tend to fare better than elsewhere.

The financial picture is manageable. A $27,000 median debt load translates to just 64 cents owed for every dollar of first-year earnings, which is notably lower than most programs (25th percentile for debt). Earnings grow modestly to $44,739 by year four, though that still trails the top Minnesota programs by $5,000-8,000. The difference between a highly selective school like Gustavus Adolphus ($50,074) and Hamline isn't enormous, but it's meaningful over a career.

The critical caveat: this data comes from under 30 graduates, so one or two outlier salaries could skew these figures significantly. If your child is drawn to Hamline for fit or cost reasons, the numbers suggest reasonable outcomes—just know that several Minnesota peers post stronger results. The modest debt and solid national standing offer a decent foundation, even if this isn't the state's elite tier for communications careers.