Communication and Media Studies at Point Loma Nazarene University

Point Loma's Communication and Media Studies graduates earn $40,138 in their first year—roughly $2,000 more than the California median and $5,000 above the national average. That's solid performance for a communications program, though there's an important caveat: these figures come from a small graduating class (under 30 students), which means a few outliers can skew the numbers significantly. The 60th percentile ranking within California suggests respectable but not exceptional outcomes compared to state peers.

The debt picture looks reasonable at $21,500, translating to a 0.54 debt-to-earnings ratio. While that's slightly higher than the California median debt of $18,250, it's still manageable territory—graduates would need to allocate roughly 11% of their gross income toward standard loan repayment. For a private Christian university in expensive San Diego, keeping debt below $22,000 demonstrates some restraint, though families should verify whether their specific financial aid package would match this median.

The real question is whether these outcomes justify private school tuition versus in-state alternatives. Point Loma's earnings fall well short of top California programs like Cal Poly SLO ($62,000) or Santa Clara ($52,000), but those are highly selective schools with different competitive dynamics. For students drawn to Point Loma's faith-based environment and smaller class sizes, the financial outcomes don't raise red flags—just be realistic that communications rarely generates dramatic early-career earnings anywhere, and confirm these small-sample results align with your family's actual aid offer.