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

# Governors State University

University Park, 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 | $58,169 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $37,592 – $84,427 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $10,266 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 22% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $24,227 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 70% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.24× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $30,169 | derived |

**22% 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 $14,000 (≈ 24% 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 $16,443 to $87,815 across 24 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $87,815 | $41,125 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $72,424 | not reported |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $68,781 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,988 | $12,500 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $67,463 | $69,700 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $53,354 | $49,932 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $52,558 | $42,900 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $46,762 | $47,477 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $44,130 | $41,000 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $42,069 | $68,912 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,071 | $17,885 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,670 | $15,750 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,325 | $18,750 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,493 | $20,000 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,593 | $15,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,000 | $19,813 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,435 | $20,000 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,829 | $17,928 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,787 | $26,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,272 | $17,250 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,365 | $22,962 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,090 | $19,480 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,886 | $19,000 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $16,443 | $18,500 |

## 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 Governors State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?145336

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