Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication at Mercer University

Based on comparable programs across Georgia, Mercer's public relations and advertising degree appears to land squarely in the middle of the pack—estimated first-year earnings of $38,555 align almost exactly with the state median. That's functional but far from impressive, especially when you consider that UGA graduates in the same field earn roughly $7,000 more out of the gate. The estimated debt load of $25,832 isn't catastrophic, yielding a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.67, but it means your child would be earning just $1.50 for every dollar borrowed—a thinner margin than many families realize when signing loan documents.

What complicates this picture is that we're working entirely with estimates here, since Mercer's graduate cohort in this program was too small for the Department of Education to report actual outcomes. Similar programs suggest modest but manageable returns, yet there's genuine uncertainty about whether Mercer's specific combination of smaller class sizes and private school networking delivers better results than these peer benchmarks indicate—or worse. For a communications field where internships, portfolio work, and geographic location often matter as much as the degree itself, that gap between estimated and actual outcomes could swing either direction.

If your child is drawn to Mercer's campus culture and has clear career direction in PR or advertising, this path won't bury them in debt. But confirm that the school's industry connections in Atlanta or other markets justify choosing this over Georgia's flagship program, which shows demonstrably stronger earnings for the same field.