Bachelor's · Seaside, California
Is Radio, Television, and Digital Communication at California State University-Monterey Bay worth it?
Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 19.1 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $28,374
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $42,915
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $14,328
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $59k (likely $59k – $78k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $3k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 19.1 years (likely 10.6–20+)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- −$226k (likely −$300k – −$167k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- −$163k (likely −$274k – −$31k)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 63%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in
- not reported / ≤ 20%
- NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20
Change income, residency or loans Compare Radio, Television, and Digital Communication at other schools
🎬 Getting ready in high school
Students heading toward media & storytelling majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.
AP classes
- AP English Language and Composition
- AP English Literature and Composition
- AP Seminar
IB Higher Level
- Language A: Literature HL or Language and Literature HL
- Film HL
Build my roadmap 🗺️ Middle school to career, plus high schools near you that offer these classes.
Other majors at California State University-Monterey Bay
- Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's)$145,281
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's)$134,489
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$115,179
- Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's)$104,220
- Computer Science (Bachelor's)$101,787
- Social Work (Master's)$95,950
- Education, General (Master's)$80,296
- Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's)$74,298
- Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy (Master's)$73,905
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's)$72,558
- Mathematics (Bachelor's)$62,943
- International/Globalization Studies (Bachelor's)$61,480
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication at other schools in California
- Biola University$60,082
- San Francisco State University$58,550
- Pepperdine University$55,432
- University of La Verne$55,332
- Academy of Art University$54,087
- California State University-Northridge$49,359
- California State University-Fullerton$48,094
- California State University-Long Beach$47,444
- San Diego State University$43,485
- California State University-Los Angeles$39,867