Master's · Fullerton, California

Is Educational/Instructional Media Design at California State University-Fullerton worth it?

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

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

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $86,772; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $98,556; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $19,000; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $20k (likely $20k – $20k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $29k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.7 years (likely 1.3–2.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $113k (likely $34k – $200k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $501k (likely $312k – $740k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.