by our College Data Analytics Team
[Instructional Media Design](/majors/education/instructional-media-design/) graduates earn very different salaries depending on where they study. The highest-paying schools turn a instructional media design degree into the strongest early-career earnings.
For its 2026 highest-paid-graduates ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools to find where instructional media design graduates earn the most.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools send instructional media design graduates into the highest-paying careers, see the list below.
Our analysis ranked East Carolina University the top school for instructional media design graduate earnings in North Carolina. Set in the city of Greenville, East Carolina University is a public institution. After graduating, instructional media design degree recipients from East Carolina University typically earn about $63,580 annually.
North Carolina State University At Raleigh came in at #2 on our 2026 list of the highest-paying instructional media design schools. North Carolina State University At Raleigh is a public school located in the city of Raleigh. After graduating, instructional media design degree recipients from North Carolina State University At Raleigh typically earn about $60,244 annually.
Strong graduate earnings at Appalachian State University earned it the #3 place for instructional media design. Appalachian State University is a public school located in the town of Boone. Instructional Media Design graduates of Appalachian State University earn a median of about $60,066 a year early in their careers.
Gardner Webb University came in at #4 on our 2026 list of the highest-paying instructional media design schools. Located in the rural area of Boiling Springs, Gardner Webb University is a private not-for-profit institution. Early-career instructional media design graduates from Gardner Webb University make a median of around $52,313 per year.
The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology measures the salaries instructional media design graduates go on to earn early in their careers, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).
Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 4 schools evaluated.
*Salary figures reflect median early-career earnings (about 5 years after graduation) and may vary by how long a person takes to complete their degree.
More about our data sources and methodologies.