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

# Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL · 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 | $51,989 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $35,825 – $72,492 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $15,722 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,746 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 47% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $26,996 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 77% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.30× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $23,989 | derived |

**47% 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 $15,722 (≈ 30% 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 $25,065 to $63,284 across 37 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $63,284 | $17,123 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,088 | $22,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,362 | not reported |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $51,985 | $39,565 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $50,607 | $25,546 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Master's Degree | $49,926 | $14,627 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services. | Master's Degree | $48,617 | $29,035 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,053 | $15,478 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,035 | $21,500 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,684 | $24,000 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,628 | $22,062 |
| Political Science and Government. | Master's Degree | $41,758 | not reported |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,964 | $22,229 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. | Master's Degree | $40,936 | not reported |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,850 | $22,625 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General. | Master's Degree | $39,634 | $19,043 |
| History. | Master's Degree | $37,344 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,517 | $27,000 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $35,899 | $26,269 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,479 | $16,348 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,177 | $21,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $34,817 | $15,601 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,254 | $26,000 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,984 | $18,750 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,478 | $21,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,917 | $23,676 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,136 | $25,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,035 | $22,165 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,855 | $20,326 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,815 | $25,000 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,456 | $20,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,549 | $19,712 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,027 | $22,500 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,640 | not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,363 | $23,725 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,238 | $26,000 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,065 | $24,348 |

## 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 Eastern Illinois University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?144892

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