---
title: California Lutheran University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Thousand Oaks, CA
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $68,712 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $44,592 – $96,084 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $18,970 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $10,438 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 70% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $68,426 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 82% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.28× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $40,712 | derived |

**70% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $18,970 (≈ 28% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $18,859 to $101,898 across 20 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $101,898 | $41,000 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Doctoral Degree | $95,459 | not reported |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $76,491 | $26,486 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Master's Degree | $71,377 | not reported |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $69,402 | $24,728 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,247 | $21,750 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,706 | $22,078 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $58,777 | $14,600 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $58,014 | not reported |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $51,621 | $51,250 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,707 | $23,000 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $42,942 | $44,500 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,541 | $20,000 |
| Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,687 | $24,250 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,193 | $20,802 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,005 | $23,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,541 | $22,587 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,814 | $20,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,692 | $24,000 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $18,859 | $25,990 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore California Lutheran University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?110413

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/california-lutheran-university-ca.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`