Communication and Media Studies at Woodbury University

California's communications programs produce wildly different outcomes—from Cal Poly SLO's $62,000 starters to programs barely clearing $30,000—making individual program selection critical. Woodbury's estimated figures (drawn from peer programs statewide since this school's graduate cohort was too small to report) suggest first-year earnings around $38,000, roughly matching the state median for communications bachelor's degrees but trailing the university's more successful in-state competitors by $10,000 to $24,000.

The estimated $22,250 in debt yields a manageable 0.58 debt-to-earnings ratio, better than the typical communications program nationally. That's meaningful for a field where entry-level salaries often create tight budgets—your graduate would owe about seven months of gross pay rather than approaching a full year's earnings. With nearly half of Woodbury students receiving Pell grants, this debt level suggests the program serves cost-conscious families reasonably well, though the earnings ceiling appears modest compared to stronger programs in Southern California.

The core uncertainty here isn't whether communications degrees can launch careers—they clearly can—but whether Woodbury's specific program delivers outcomes closer to the $38,000 state average or falls short of it. Given the lack of school-specific data, your decision hinges on factors beyond these estimates: Woodbury's location in Burbank (near major media companies), internship connections, and whether the program specializes in higher-earning communications tracks like corporate communications or digital media rather than lower-paying journalism or nonprofit sectors.