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

# Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH · 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 | $52,131 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $33,018 – $74,241 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $15,333 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,305 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 51% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $27,159 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 71% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.29× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $24,131 | derived |

**51% 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 $15,333 (≈ 29% 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 $21,828 to $101,571 across 68 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other. | Master's Degree | $101,571 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $81,600 | not reported |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $81,303 | $58,960 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Master's Degree | $71,395 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $70,841 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $69,187 | $30,750 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,483 | $25,500 |
| Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,269 | not reported |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $60,500 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,104 | $23,000 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,475 | $24,228 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $58,850 | $51,250 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $58,072 | $39,900 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,594 | $31,125 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,703 | $25,550 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,520 | $24,590 |
| Education, General. | Doctoral Degree | $56,127 | not reported |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,498 | $26,117 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $53,826 | $27,000 |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Master's Degree | $53,675 | not reported |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,426 | $18,716 |
| Information Science/Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,776 | $24,812 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $52,008 | $30,750 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $50,994 | $46,000 |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $48,944 | $71,500 |
| Education, Other. | Master's Degree | $45,905 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Master's Degree | $45,642 | $40,935 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $44,914 | $32,587 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,661 | $21,875 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,473 | $20,661 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $42,280 | $23,426 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $41,805 | $43,024 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,471 | $23,492 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $41,355 | $31,130 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $41,233 | $37,500 |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,052 | $22,500 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,873 | $19,750 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $40,088 | $50,999 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,814 | $22,750 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,442 | $23,391 |
| Community Organization and Advocacy. | Master's Degree | $36,227 | not reported |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,505 | $21,500 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,107 | $18,875 |
| Criminology. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,543 | $22,750 |
| Urban Studies/Affairs. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,712 | $25,000 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,253 | $20,154 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,991 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,881 | $24,125 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,821 | $21,950 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,582 | $26,875 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,541 | $23,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,197 | $22,000 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,859 | $25,000 |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,974 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,683 | $20,750 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,003 | $19,038 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,636 | $20,375 |
| Health/Medical Preparatory Programs. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,188 | $18,250 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,997 | $24,625 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,687 | $23,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,208 | $20,000 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,648 | not reported |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,295 | $26,645 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,314 | $22,960 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,171 | $20,824 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,597 | $26,000 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,168 | $23,781 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,828 | $26,750 |

## 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 Cleveland State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?202134

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