Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication at Rochester University

Based on comparable programs across Michigan, Rochester University's communications degree tracks right at the state median of $40,299 in first-year earnings. That's reasonable for this field, but it puts graduates several steps behind Michigan State's stronger $45,158 outcome and means starting salaries lag peers at Central Michigan or Wayne State by only marginal amounts.

The estimated debt of $25,832 translates to a 0.64 debt-to-earnings ratio—manageable territory that suggests monthly loan payments around $290 on a standard plan, or roughly 9% of gross monthly income. For context, the national median debt for this credential sits at $24,625, so Rochester's figure isn't out of line. Similar programs in Michigan typically produce this level of borrowing, and the earnings estimate places graduates near typical entry points for PR and marketing assistant roles in the Detroit metro area.

The uncertainty here matters more than usual: with no reported outcomes for Rochester specifically, you're working from state averages that include everything from elite programs to struggling ones. If your child thrives in smaller class settings and Rochester's career services actively place students in local agencies, the actual outcome could exceed these estimates. But if networking and internship access prove limited, they might find themselves on the lower end of that range, where the debt load becomes harder to justify against entry-level communications salaries.