Bachelor's · Boston, Massachusetts
Is Business/Commerce, General at Emerson College worth it?
Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Graduates typically don't earn back the cost within 20 years, compared with the no-degree baseline.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $49,271
- 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
- $22,781
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $209k (likely $209k – $209k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $8k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- Not within 20 years in most scenarios
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- −$359k (likely −$429k – −$287k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- −$269k (likely −$417k – −$116k)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 80%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Change income, residency or loans Compare Business/Commerce, General at other schools
Other majors at Emerson College
- Marketing (Master's)$93,412
- Marketing (Bachelor's)$76,623
- Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's)$74,005
- Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Master's)$65,081
- Journalism (Bachelor's)$63,337
- Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Bachelor's)$61,496
- Publishing (Master's)$61,304
- Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's)$59,301
- Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's)$59,202
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's)$57,493
- Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's)$56,485
- Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Master's)$53,881
Business/Commerce, General at other schools in Massachusetts
- Northeastern University$113,620
- Brandeis University$108,405
- Regis College$82,096
- University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth$73,398
- Springfield College$71,807
- Westfield State University$66,889
- Nichols College$62,926
- Framingham State University$62,467
- Western New England University$60,210