Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies at Truman State University

Truman State's writing studies program shows troubling first-year earnings of just $16,569—less than half the national median and $7,500 below Missouri's typical graduate in this field. Among Missouri's 16 writing programs, this ranks in the bottom 10th percentile, while Missouri State graduates in the same program earn nearly three times as much at $47,377. The debt burden of $26,899 isn't unusually high for the field, but paired with such low initial earnings, it creates an immediate repayment challenge.

The critical caveat here is sample size—with fewer than 30 graduates tracked, these numbers might not represent a typical graduate's experience. One or two students pursuing graduate school or taking gap years could drastically skew the earnings data downward. Writing careers also tend to start slowly, and first-year earnings often don't capture the full earning trajectory.

If your child is committed to this field, understand that you're looking at a financially difficult first year regardless of where they attend, but Truman's specific outcomes suggest extra caution. The small sample makes this data particularly unreliable, so talk directly with the department about typical graduate outcomes and career paths. If these numbers prove accurate for most students, you're looking at a 1.62 debt-to-earnings ratio that will make loan repayment genuinely difficult in those crucial first years after graduation.