Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia maps to BLS occupations averaging about $64,987, with roughly 1,596,050 workers nationwide in those roles. About 6,490 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median program completion runs near 58%.
Key Statistics
Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia: what the data shows
Common questions about digital communication and media/multimedia degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a digital communication and media/multimedia degree?
A Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia program is classified under NCES CIP 09.0702 in the Radio, Television, and Digital Communication field family (09.07).
A program that focuses on the development, use, critical evaluation, and regulation of new electronic communication technologies using computer applications; and that prepares individuals to function as developers and managers of digital communications media. Includes instruction in computer and telecommunications technologies and processes; design and development of digital communications; marketing and distribution; digital communications regulation, law, and policy; the study of human interaction with, and use of, digital media; and emerging trends and issues
IPEDS counted 11,282 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
How long does it take to get a digital communication and media/multimedia degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 09.0702 in our file:
- 413 Associate (4.2% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 6,490 Bachelor's (65.7% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 2,968 Master's (30.1% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 3 Doctorate (0.0% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in digital communication and media/multimedia?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Teachers, Postsecondary (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 09.0702, 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 digital communication and media/multimedia degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | 1,500,000 | — |
| Secondary School Teachers | 1,072,540 | $64,580 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a digital communication and media/multimedia degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Radio, Television, and Digital Communication bachelor's program family: median debt $31,825, median earnings $50,497 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 1.06.
About 5.1% 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 $6,796 and median net price is $16,109.
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 Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$6,796 Median In-State Public
$40,656 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia majors are, on average, $6,796 for in-state public colleges, and $40,656 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
11,282 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 2 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 4 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 5 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,615 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 2 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
| 3 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
| 4 | El Camino Community College District | CA | $1,144 |
| 5 | El Camino Community College District | CA | $1,144 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico State University-Grants | NM | $68 |
| 2 | Fort Peck Community College | MT | $400 |
| 3 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 4 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 5 | Cape Coral Technical College | FL | $1,463 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia programs.
Graduation Rates
58.14% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
57.52% Average Graduation Rate
547 Institutions Reporting
46.02% - 69.28% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia 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 Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia is in NY (940 completions). That state represents about 14.5% 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 MS (1.06% 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 | 940 | 14.5% | 0.34% |
| GA | 727 | 11.2% | 0.64% |
| FL | 647 | 10.0% | 0.28% |
| PA | 413 | 6.4% | 0.24% |
| TX | 398 | 6.1% | 0.14% |
| IN | 379 | 5.8% | 0.37% |
| AZ | 330 | 5.1% | 0.24% |
| OH | 323 | 5.0% | 0.23% |
| MS | 322 | 5.0% | 1.06% |
| MD | 282 | 4.3% | 0.38% |
| IL | 268 | 4.1% | 0.19% |
| WA | 156 | 2.4% | 0.23% |
| OR | 130 | 2.0% | 0.29% |
| CT | 113 | 1.7% | 0.23% |
| MO | 105 | 1.6% | 0.15% |
| MI | 100 | 1.5% | 0.09% |
| NC | 94 | 1.4% | 0.08% |
| CO | 92 | 1.4% | 0.13% |
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 09.0702 in the survey year used in our extract (9,874 total across levels below).
- 413 Associate (4.2% of IPEDS total)
- 6,490 Bachelor's (65.7% of IPEDS total)
- 2,968 Master's (30.1% of IPEDS total)
- 3 Doctorate (0.0% 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 $64,987. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | $36,511 | 1,500,000 |
| Secondary School Teachers | $104,813 | 1,072,540 |
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 Radio, Television, and Digital Communication CIP family (73 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia graduate.
- $31,825 median federal loan debt among completers
- $50,497 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 1.06 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 5.1% 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
$40,621 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia majors is $40,621.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia majors.
Occupations by Share
1,596,050 2023 Workforce
The number of Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia.
Age distribution for Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
6,490 Total Degrees Awarded
2,612 Male (40.25%)
3,878 Female (59.75%)
Gender distribution of Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
3,606 White (55.56%)
1,019 Hispanic or Latino (15.70%)
576 Black or African American (8.88%)
369 Asian (5.69%)
291 Two or More Races (4.48%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia 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 Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia majors.
About
A program that focuses on the development, use, critical evaluation, and regulation of new electronic communication technologies using computer applications; and that prepares individuals to function as developers and managers of digital communications media. Includes instruction in computer and telecommunications technologies and processes; design and development of digital communications; marketing and distribution; digital communications regulation, law, and policy; the study of human interaction with, and use of, digital media; and emerging trends and issues
In 2023, 11,282 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia.
CIP Code
09.0702 - Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $31,825 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $50,497, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.06. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia graduate.
Women earned 63.1% of 11,282 Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $64,987. The largest mapped role by headcount is Teachers, Postsecondary (1,500,000 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $6,796 in-state at public colleges and $40,656 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.