Communication and Media Studies at Wayne State College

Wayne State's Communication and Media Studies program places slightly above the national median for first-year earnings but trails notably behind other Nebraska schools. At $35,833, graduates earn about $4,600 less than the state median of $40,445, landing in the 40th percentile among Nebraska programs. That's a meaningful gap when the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Nebraska Wesleyan both start their graduates around $41,000.

The debt load of $25,325 is fairly standard—close to both national and state medians—resulting in a manageable 0.71 debt-to-earnings ratio. Graduates aren't drowning in debt, but they're also not positioned as competitively in Nebraska's job market as peers from other state programs. The difference might matter less if you're committed to staying in rural Nebraska where cost of living is lower, but it's worth acknowledging that other in-state options deliver stronger initial earnings.

One important caveat: this data reflects fewer than 30 graduates, so these numbers could shift considerably year to year. If your child is drawn to Wayne State for other reasons—smaller campus environment, specific faculty, or lower tuition—this program won't derail their finances. But purely from an earnings standpoint, it's performing in the middle of the pack nationally while lagging within Nebraska itself.