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

# Grand Valley State University

Allendale, MI · 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 | $56,118 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $38,569 – $78,636 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $19,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $10,915 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 67% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $28,367 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 75% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.35× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $28,118 | derived |

**67% 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 $19,500 (≈ 35% 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 $22,671 to $103,525 across 78 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Master's Degree | $103,525 | $89,091 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $91,846 | not reported |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Master's Degree | $79,623 | $30,124 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $74,641 | $29,091 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,095 | $26,012 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $69,161 | $101,032 |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology. | Master's Degree | $68,965 | $26,133 |
| Manufacturing Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,319 | $24,250 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,211 | $24,250 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $60,644 | $61,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $59,881 | $20,032 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,822 | $25,000 |
| Information Science/Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,382 | $28,937 |
| Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,039 | $28,894 |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design. | Master's Degree | $52,497 | not reported |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $52,251 | $59,065 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,957 | $25,000 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $49,842 | $23,737 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $49,463 | $27,226 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Master's Degree | $49,086 | not reported |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,926 | $25,375 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $48,908 | $35,751 |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Master's Degree | $47,694 | $21,218 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,558 | $21,500 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $47,350 | $27,438 |
| Business/Managerial Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,277 | $24,281 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,872 | $21,823 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $46,315 | $48,000 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,994 | $25,000 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Master's Degree | $45,351 | $37,988 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,077 | $24,295 |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,898 | $23,250 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,752 | $22,530 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $43,161 | $41,693 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,498 | $25,250 |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,591 | $21,025 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,048 | $23,239 |
| Social Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,437 | $26,932 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,331 | $25,125 |
| Statistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,770 | $27,000 |
| Education, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,643 | $28,250 |
| Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,420 | $24,250 |
| Biological and Physical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,369 | $27,000 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,652 | $19,324 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,452 | $27,036 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,125 | $25,000 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,459 | $27,000 |
| Legal Support Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,426 | $21,498 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,374 | $27,660 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,184 | $26,000 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,005 | $24,904 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,325 | $25,500 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,944 | $27,250 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,822 | $25,000 |
| Public Administration. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,390 | $25,000 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,927 | $18,535 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,497 | not reported |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,711 | $27,000 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,676 | $29,075 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,914 | $24,250 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,888 | $25,216 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,921 | $27,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,680 | $23,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,428 | $29,000 |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,278 | $24,945 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,036 | $22,587 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,582 | $23,250 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,844 | $27,000 |
| Health/Medical Preparatory Programs. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,629 | $25,017 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,186 | $22,500 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,122 | $23,000 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,948 | $24,179 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,617 | $24,250 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,987 | $25,524 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,144 | $27,000 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,424 | $24,499 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,340 | $24,250 |
| Philosophy. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,671 | $25,466 |

## 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 Grand Valley State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?170082

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