Master's · Evanston, Illinois

Is Radio, Television, and Digital Communication at Northwestern University 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 3.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $83,308; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $124,618; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $62,410; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $66k (likely $66k – $66k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $59k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in IL; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 3.2 years (likely 2.7–3.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $302k (likely $216k – $395k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.03M (likely $791k – $1.29M); Today's dollars

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