Marketing at Hampton University

Hampton University's marketing program produces graduates earning $32,511 their first year—roughly $11,000 below Virginia's median for marketing majors and $12,000 below the national benchmark. Even within Virginia, where this program ranks in just the 25th percentile, it trails substantially behind options like James Madison ($61,692) and Virginia Tech ($56,417). Nationally, it sits in the bottom 5% of all marketing programs, a significant gap that suggests graduates may struggle to access the kinds of marketing roles that typically await business majors from more established programs.

The debt load of $23,355 appears manageable on paper—slightly below both state and national medians—but the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.72 means graduates carry about nine months of their annual salary in loans. That's workable if earnings grow substantially, but starting at $32,511 in marketing (a field where entry-level salaries typically sit in the mid-$40,000s) leaves little cushion for loan payments while building financial stability.

For families considering Hampton's marketing program, the value proposition is weak compared to alternatives. If your child has admission options at JMU, Virginia Tech, or even George Mason, those programs demonstrate dramatically better outcomes. Hampton may offer other benefits—community, specific cultural connections, or financial aid packages that change the calculus—but purely from an earnings standpoint, this program underperforms its Virginia peers by a margin that's hard to justify.