Human Resources Management and Services at University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas HR program graduates earn about $40,000 in their first year—roughly $10,000 below the national median for this degree and even $3,000 below Arkansas's state median. While that lands this program in just the 5th percentile nationally, it performs closer to middle-of-the-pack among the handful of Arkansas HR programs. The debt burden of nearly $37,000 is actually lighter than the state median, though it's still substantial relative to starting salaries, with graduates owing nearly a full year's earnings.

There's a significant red flag here: this data comes from a very small graduating class (under 30 students), which means a few outliers could dramatically skew the picture. The 20% earnings growth to $48,000 by year four is encouraging and outpaces inflation, but you'd still be behind where many HR graduates start at other programs. For context, University of Arkansas Grantham's HR graduates earn $46,500—more than this program's graduates make four years out.

If your child is committed to staying in Arkansas and HR is their passion, this program won't bury them in debt. But the low starting salary combined with the tiny sample size should make you question whether this particular degree delivers competitive career preparation. Ask the department about job placement rates and where recent graduates actually land—those details matter more than usual when working with limited data.