Master's · Edinburg, Texas

Is Educational/Instructional Media Design at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley 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 4.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $65,131; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $72,570; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $16,935; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $18k (likely $18k – $18k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $10k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in TX; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 4.6 years (likely 2.8–9.3); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$69k (likely −$137k – $8k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $82k (likely −$77k – $260k); Today's dollars

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