Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication at Roger Williams University

Roger Williams graduates in this program earn about $2,000 less than the typical Rhode Island grad in this field, though they're doing better than most programs nationally. While 86th percentile sounds impressive on a national scale, the Rhode Island market tells a different story—this program lands in the 40th percentile among the state's six offerings. Johnson & Wales and URI both produce graduates earning $4,000-$7,000 more annually, which matters in a field where starting salaries cluster in the mid-40s.

The debt picture looks favorable at first glance—$27,000 represents the 5th percentile nationally, meaning 95% of similar programs leave students with more debt. That's genuinely unusual for a private university. The 0.60 debt-to-earnings ratio means you'd repay about 60 cents for every dollar earned in that first year, which is manageable territory. However, the small sample size (under 30 graduates) means these numbers could shift significantly with just a few data points.

For families weighing this $27,000 debt load, the question isn't whether it's affordable—it probably is—but whether URI's stronger earning outcomes at similar debt levels make more sense. Roger Williams works if your child is set on this specific campus environment and you're comfortable with slightly below-average state outcomes for the field.