In the July 15th edition of the Wall Street Journal and The Journal’s weekly podcast, one of the major topics they discuss is the value of a graduate degree. With the post-Covid economy, many are wondering “Is a Graduate Degree Worth the Debt,?” and that depends on the program. Some degrees result in high salaries; some in low debt. Effective programs do both. In other words, graduates leave the program with a very low debt-to-salary ratio.
CICS Master’s programs is on top in the debt to income analysis provided by the Wall Street Journal. The relative ratios and rankings are reflected in the graphs from the WSJ below:
Analysis of Ball State’s CICS Program
Dr. Dennis Trinkle, director of CICS notes, that “like its top ITERA, US News, and World Report Ranking, the WSJ report is further evidence of the incredible impact and value of a CICS degree.” WSJ furthers the claim stating, “[the tool] Shows median debt for graduates in roughly 2015 and 2016, compared to median income two years later. Data isn’t available for programs with few graduates. Figures are only for graduates who borrowed federal loans.”
These numbers were established before the CICS online program became available to students across the country. Historically, a portion of our graduates leave the central Indiana area, a point to consider with the median earnings. Now, students can access the program from anywhere with the addition of the online program for mid-level career professionals. Many of our online students also transition into new roles during their degree program.
Using the 2015/2016 data, CICS graduates borrowed the lowest ratio for any program listed, reporting a .22 income to debt ratio. The highly positive ratio shows the high salary potential and low debt in earning the degree.
For over 35 years, CICS remains a professional and academic degree set to create tomorrow’s tech leadership, offering great value to our students. We especially thank our faculty. They are ranked #1 nationally in two areas of the 2021 US News and World Report rankings.
On top of that, our admission process does not require qualifying exams or specific majors. We take pride in our low score category and are confident in the transformative professional program we have, along with the 2,000 alumni who believe in it too.
