Bachelor's · Cedar City, Utah

Is Communication and Media Studies at Southern Utah University 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 12.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $47,363; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $47,757; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $11,250; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $46k (likely $46k – $64k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $6k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in UT; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 12.9 years (likely 5.7–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$191k (likely −$264k – −$130k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$158k (likely −$268k – −$43k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 62%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26