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

# California State University-Fullerton

Fullerton, CA · Public · 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 | $62,951 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $39,060 – $89,304 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,250 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 70% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $18,269 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 76% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.19× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $34,951 | 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 $12,000 (≈ 19% 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 $15,647 to $145,938 across 71 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $145,938 | $40,710 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $138,162 | $41,000 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Doctoral Degree | $113,642 | $61,302 |
| Computer Engineering. | Master's Degree | $88,293 | $34,066 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $86,611 | $12,500 |
| Computer Science. | Master's Degree | $80,382 | not reported |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. | Master's Degree | $80,029 | $20,500 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $79,097 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $78,934 | $32,033 |
| Taxation. | Master's Degree | $75,840 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $71,980 | $27,925 |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $71,481 | $12,168 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $69,170 | not reported |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Master's Degree | $68,926 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,367 | $18,952 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $66,000 | $25,320 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,145 | $16,500 |
| Public Administration and Social Service Professions, Other. | Master's Degree | $65,115 | not reported |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $64,245 | $34,317 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,150 | $13,274 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,135 | $18,874 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $56,978 | $20,500 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,575 | $12,375 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,224 | $13,750 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $54,397 | $31,100 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $54,286 | $27,334 |
| Biology, General. | Master's Degree | $50,521 | not reported |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $49,876 | not reported |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $49,804 | $37,058 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $45,971 | $45,387 |
| Information Science/Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,950 | $13,071 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,105 | $13,982 |
| Public Administration. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,063 | $12,981 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,407 | $13,750 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,680 | $21,589 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Master's Degree | $39,328 | $20,343 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Master's Degree | $38,313 | not reported |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,331 | $17,377 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $37,022 | $30,500 |
| History. | Master's Degree | $35,997 | $44,181 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,333 | $13,000 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,658 | $11,000 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,227 | $16,625 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Master's Degree | $32,210 | $22,672 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,740 | $15,000 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,637 | $12,789 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,516 | $13,399 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,668 | $7,345 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,562 | $14,869 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,259 | not reported |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,149 | $16,419 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,602 | $12,500 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,994 | $18,240 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,870 | $12,502 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,044 | $14,250 |
| Area Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,666 | $17,500 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,598 | $19,500 |
| Philosophy. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,453 | not reported |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Master's Degree | $26,301 | not reported |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,021 | $15,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,006 | $15,917 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,540 | $16,500 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,066 | $13,812 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,224 | $14,750 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,004 | $17,387 |
| Music. | Master's Degree | $23,862 | not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,697 | $13,873 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,792 | $12,979 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,155 | $12,550 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $18,174 | $18,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $15,647 | $14,265 |

## 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 State University-Fullerton by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?110565

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