Human Resources Management and Services at Utah Valley University

Utah Valley University's HR program produces a puzzling result: graduates earn slightly above the national median but fall well short of what other Utah programs deliver. At $52,194, first-year earnings trail the state median by $7,000 and sit at just the 40th percentile among Utah's five HR programs. That gap matters when you're competing for jobs in the same metro areas as BYU and Weber State graduates who start nearly $8,000 ahead.

The financial picture does have one bright spot—exceptionally low debt at $13,736, which ranks in the 95th percentile nationally. This creates a manageable 0.26 debt-to-earnings ratio that new graduates can handle comfortably. However, this advantage exists partly because many comparable programs saddle students with double the debt load, not necessarily because UVU delivers superior value.

The sample size here is quite small (under 30 graduates), which makes these numbers less reliable than data from larger cohorts. That said, the earnings gap versus other Utah schools is substantial enough to warrant attention. If your child plans to work in Utah after graduation, they'll be entering the job market with credentials that appear to carry less weight than competitors from nearby institutions, even if the debt burden is lighter.