Broadcast Journalism Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Broadcast Journalism maps to BLS occupations averaging about $112,995, with roughly 237,570 workers nationwide in those roles. About 633 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median in-state published tuition is about $8,472.
Key Statistics
Broadcast Journalism: what the data shows
Common questions about broadcast journalism degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a broadcast journalism degree?
A Broadcast Journalism program is classified under NCES CIP 09.0402 in the Journalism field family (09.04).
A program that focuses on the methods and techniques for reporting, producing, and delivering news and news programs via radio, television, and video/film media; and that prepares individuals to be professional broadcast journalists, editors, producers, directors, and managers. Includes instruction in the principles of broadcast technology; broadcast reporting; on- and off-camera and microphone procedures and techniques; program, sound, and video/film editing; program design and production; media law and policy; and professional standards and ethics
IPEDS counted 633 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of broadcast journalism degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 09.04 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Business and Economic Journalism (CIP 09.0405)
- Cultural Journalism (CIP 09.0406)
- Journalism (CIP 09.0401)
- Photojournalism (CIP 09.0404)
- Science/Health/Environmental Journalism (CIP 09.0407)
How long does it take to get a broadcast journalism degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 09.0402 in our file:
- 72 Associate (9.9% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 633 Bachelor's (86.7% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 25 Master's (3.4% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 09.0402, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a broadcast journalism degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Broadcast Journalism to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists | 41,550 | $60,280 |
| Editors | 95,480 | $75,260 |
| Writers and Authors | 47,800 | $72,270 |
| Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys | 23,880 | $45,680 |
| Film and Video Editors | 28,860 | $70,980 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a broadcast journalism degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Journalism bachelor's program family: median debt $38,535, median earnings $56,278 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 1.11.
About 3.7% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $8,472 and median net price is $16,511.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Broadcast Journalism and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$8,472 Median In-State Public
$40,290 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Broadcast Journalism majors are, on average, $8,472 for in-state public colleges, and $40,290 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Broadcast Journalism programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Broadcast Journalism from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Broadcast Journalism.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 2 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 3 | University of Central Florida | FL | 59,146 |
| 4 | Liberty University | VA | 50,012 |
| 5 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | OH | 45,638 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Broadcast Journalism programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Camino Community College District | CA | $1,144 |
| 2 | El Camino Community College District | CA | $1,144 |
| 3 | San Diego City College | CA | $1,146 |
| 4 | San Diego City College | CA | $1,146 |
| 5 | San Diego Mesa College | CA | $1,146 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Broadcast Journalism programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 2 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 3 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 4 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 5 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,115 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Broadcast Journalism programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Broadcast Journalism programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Broadcast Journalism is in NY (151 completions). That state represents about 23.9% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is OK (0.26% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| NY | 151 | 23.9% | 0.06% |
| OK | 109 | 17.2% | 0.26% |
| KY | 68 | 10.7% | 0.13% |
| TX | 39 | 6.2% | 0.01% |
| SC | 38 | 6.0% | 0.07% |
| NE | 37 | 5.8% | 0.12% |
| WA | 35 | 5.5% | 0.05% |
| CA | 30 | 4.7% | 0.01% |
| PA | 22 | 3.5% | 0.01% |
| MD | 21 | 3.3% | 0.03% |
| FL | 20 | 3.2% | 0.01% |
| MA | 14 | 2.2% | 0.01% |
| MI | 10 | 1.6% | 0.01% |
| TN | 9 | 1.4% | 0.01% |
| MS | 7 | 1.1% | 0.02% |
| OH | 7 | 1.1% | 0.01% |
| CO | 5 | 0.8% | 0.01% |
| MN | 5 | 0.8% | 0.01% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 09.04 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Business and Economic Journalism CIP 09.0405
- Cultural Journalism CIP 09.0406
- Journalism CIP 09.0401
- Photojournalism CIP 09.0404
- Science/Health/Environmental Journalism CIP 09.0407
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 09.0402 in the survey year used in our extract (730 total across levels below).
- 72 Associate (9.9% of IPEDS total)
- 633 Bachelor's (86.7% of IPEDS total)
- 25 Master's (3.4% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $112,995. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Broadcast Journalism graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists | $122,666 | 41,550 |
| Editors | $106,703 | 95,480 |
| Writers and Authors | $99,513 | 47,800 |
| Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys | $161,914 | 23,880 |
| Film and Video Editors | $101,742 | 28,860 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Journalism CIP family (77 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Broadcast Journalism graduate.
- $38,535 median federal loan debt among completers
- $56,278 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 1.11 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 3.7% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$112,995 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Broadcast Journalism majors is $112,995.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Broadcast Journalism majors.
Occupations by Share
237,570 2023 Workforce
The number of Broadcast Journalism graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Broadcast Journalism by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Broadcast Journalism in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
Age distribution for Broadcast Journalism degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
633 Total Degrees Awarded
357 Male (56.40%)
276 Female (43.60%)
Gender distribution of Broadcast Journalism degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
399 White (63.03%)
90 Black or African American (14.22%)
78 Hispanic or Latino (12.32%)
37 Two or More Races (5.85%)
6 American Indian/Alaska Native (0.95%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Broadcast Journalism degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Broadcast Journalism are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Broadcast Journalism.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Broadcast Journalism field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Broadcast Journalism majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Broadcast Journalism majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Broadcast Journalism majors.
About
A program that focuses on the methods and techniques for reporting, producing, and delivering news and news programs via radio, television, and video/film media; and that prepares individuals to be professional broadcast journalists, editors, producers, directors, and managers. Includes instruction in the principles of broadcast technology; broadcast reporting; on- and off-camera and microphone procedures and techniques; program, sound, and video/film editing; program design and production; media law and policy; and professional standards and ethics
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Broadcast Journalism.
CIP Code
09.0402 - Broadcast Journalism
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $38,535 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $56,278, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.11. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Broadcast Journalism graduate.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $112,995. The largest mapped role by headcount is News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists (41,550 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $8,472 in-state at public colleges and $40,290 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.