Master's · Los Angeles, California

Is Journalism at University of Southern California 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 8.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $56,102; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $82,310; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $45,476; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $48k (likely $48k – $48k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $13k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 8.7 years (likely 5.9–16.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$125k (likely −$213k – −$35k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $78k (likely −$129k – $305k); Today's dollars

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