Bachelor's · Carson, California

Is Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication at California State University-Dominguez Hills worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 5.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $46,996; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: Not enough graduates to report; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $17,035; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $34k (likely $31k – $43k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $9k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.3 years (likely 3.7–8.5); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$132k (likely −$194k – −$79k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$40k (likely −$135k – $67k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 42%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26