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Program ranking · CIP 09.09 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Public Relations

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Public Relations (CIP 09.09) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

$90,535
Highest public relations earnings
100
Colleges ranked
$51,824
#100 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $51,824 median earnings for Public Relations bachelor's (CIP 09.09) completers. Syracuse University leads at $90,535.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$90,535
#1 - Syracuse University
$51,824
#100 - the cutoff to make this list
25+
completers required per school
428
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

Top 15 public relations programs by median completer earnings

Public Relations bachelor's (CIP 09.09) · higher is higher early-career pay

median earnings

What this shows PR and advertising medians mix agency, corporate comms, and media roles - debt still matters when freelance and metro markets swing pay.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full top 100

# School Name StateMedian EarningsMedian DebtCompleters
1 Syracuse University NY $90,535 $24,375 198
2 Southern Methodist University TX $89,330 $19,500 120
3 University of Southern California CA $87,946 $19,500 77
4 George Washington University DC $85,459 $23,250 45
5 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign IL $83,451 $21,875 200
6 University of Miami FL $82,999 $17,000 162
7 Pepperdine University CA $81,417 $24,112 127
8 Brigham Young University UT $80,841 $11,974 185
9 The University of Texas at Austin TX $80,221 $20,402 506
10 Chapman University CA $80,139 $22,250 43
11 Miami University-Oxford OH $79,710 $23,500 156
12 Pace University NY $79,376 $24,525 87
13 American University DC $78,410 $26,442 132
14 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus PA $76,246 $23,250 293
15 Pennsylvania State University-World Campus PA $76,246 $23,250 30
16 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus OK $76,148 $20,718 87
17 Butler University IN $75,382 $26,588 88
18 Assumption University MA $74,900 $27,000 25
19 University of Colorado Boulder CO $74,779 $18,500 409
20 University of Georgia GA $74,531 $18,750 310
21 Quinnipiac University CT $73,547 $23,250 63
22 University of Oregon OR $73,410 $20,500 470
23 University of Rhode Island RI $72,328 $22,214 97
24 Clemson University SC $71,968 $21,375 25
25 Texas Christian University TX $71,186 $23,668 150
26 DePaul University IL $71,045 $22,332 168
27 Gonzaga University WA $69,977 $26,000 32
28 Fashion Institute of Technology NY $69,954 $20,500 254
29 University of Florida FL $69,600 $15,321 369
30 University of Florida-Online FL $69,600 $15,321 56
31 Michigan State University MI $69,300 $22,605 552
32 Loyola University Chicago IL $68,942 $23,250 139
33 The University of Alabama AL $68,227 $24,889 321
34 Ithaca College NY $68,029 $23,125 138
35 Howard University DC $67,881 $25,750 80
36 Temple University PA $67,840 $23,827 249
37 Illinois State University IL $67,752 $21,500 78
38 St. John's University-New York NY $67,728 $26,000 55
39 Washington State University WA $67,647 $19,112 301
40 San Diego State University CA $67,414 $16,111 41
41 Auburn University AL $67,413 $23,000 114
42 Columbia College Chicago IL $66,798 $24,225 28
43 Hofstra University NY $66,780 $23,250 39
44 Drexel University PA $66,750 $24,249 54
45 Suffolk University MA $66,709 $26,012 96
46 Florida State University FL $65,941 $14,442 92
47 University of Vermont VT $65,706 $21,070 52
48 Florida International University FL $65,343 $11,572 287
49 University of South Carolina-Columbia SC $65,248 $22,990 200
50 Marquette University WI $64,978 $24,286 100
51 Georgia Southern University GA $64,934 $23,250 42
52 Duquesne University PA $64,538 $23,250 55
53 Kennesaw State University GA $64,501 $22,660 187
54 Western Michigan University MI $64,127 $25,146 66
55 Franklin University OH $64,101 $26,332 26
56 University of Northern Iowa IA $64,067 $19,500 31
57 The University of Tampa FL $63,368 $23,375 89
58 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville TN $63,314 $21,119 122
59 Drake University IA $63,302 $21,500 47
60 Iowa State University IA $62,965 $23,125 109
61 University of Kentucky KY $62,754 $23,000 162
62 Rowan University NJ $62,661 $18,159 190
63 Central Connecticut State University CT $62,580 $20,158 45
64 University of Portland OR $62,264 $17,509 25
65 Texas Tech University TX $62,247 $20,250 292
66 University of Central Florida FL $62,140 $17,883 125
67 Susquehanna University PA $61,423 $27,000 26
68 University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE $61,145 $22,102 239
69 Ball State University IN $60,686 $23,250 84
70 Xavier University OH $60,642 $26,515 29
71 Missouri State University-Springfield MO $60,390 $22,505 56
72 Kent State University at Kent OH $60,218 $24,417 68
73 University of Houston TX $60,180 $18,750 208
74 Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ $59,864 $19,500 120
75 Southern New Hampshire University NH $59,801 $19,790 595
76 Central Michigan University MI $59,522 $27,000 91
77 Emerson College MA $59,301 $23,719 44
78 Wayne State University MI $59,025 $24,055 39
79 Texas State University TX $59,009 $19,536 386
80 SUNY at Fredonia NY $58,820 $22,325 35
81 State University of New York at Oswego NY $58,675 $23,750 51
82 Bradley University IL $58,515 $25,000 65
83 Murray State University KY $58,265 $21,235 55
84 University of Memphis TN $58,237 $21,250 39
85 Southeast Missouri State University MO $58,082 $24,908 56
86 Otterbein University OH $58,065 $20,500 25
87 Grand Valley State University MI $57,599 $25,000 157
88 Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania PA $56,381 $26,000 56
89 Oklahoma State University-Main Campus OK $56,319 $21,250 92
90 University of Idaho ID $56,032 $24,634 52
91 Northern Arizona University AZ $55,863 $20,500 148
92 Appalachian State University NC $55,671 $18,836 158
93 Cleveland State University OH $55,174 $21,500 102
94 North Dakota State University-Main Campus ND $54,656 $21,968 27
95 University of Southern Indiana IN $54,422 $25,135 38
96 Arkansas State University AR $54,196 $23,250 46
97 Western Kentucky University KY $53,839 $25,000 87
98 Flagler College FL $53,353 $18,956 31
99 Florida Southern College FL $52,796 $25,710 43
100 University of Akron Main Campus OH $51,824 $25,965 45

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Public Relations (CIP 09.09) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Public Relations (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. This list covers Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (CIP 09.09) - the honest Scorecard answer for PR/advertising demand. Communications (CIP 09.01) and journalism (CIP 09.04) are ranked separately.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.