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

# James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA · 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 | $69,954 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $48,802 – $100,257 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $17,272 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,250 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 80% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $31,735 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 86% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.25× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $41,954 | derived |

**80% 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 $17,272 (≈ 25% 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 $16,916 to $106,893 across 52 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Master's Degree | $106,893 | $88,050 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $103,590 | $24,750 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $96,174 | $29,000 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $73,457 | $19,500 |
| Information Science/Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,020 | $19,500 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $66,565 | $46,918 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,544 | $19,500 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,005 | $19,350 |
| Engineering, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,114 | $24,750 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $64,052 | $20,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,239 | $22,500 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $58,529 | $29,000 |
| Systems Science and Theory. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,389 | $21,500 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,331 | $17,000 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,275 | $20,500 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $51,074 | not reported |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,719 | $19,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,222 | $19,000 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $48,403 | $20,409 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $47,042 | $20,250 |
| Education, Other. | Master's Degree | $45,966 | not reported |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,708 | $16,250 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,417 | $19,500 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $43,958 | not reported |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,827 | $19,875 |
| Science, Technology and Society. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,067 | $22,784 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $41,375 | $18,092 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,555 | $19,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,604 | $20,500 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,400 | $18,138 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,812 | $18,879 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,969 | $19,286 |
| Public Administration. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,948 | $18,250 |
| Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,445 | $25,000 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,673 | $21,891 |
| Science, Technology and Society. | Master's Degree | $34,321 | not reported |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,807 | $19,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,065 | $22,125 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,885 | $21,000 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,499 | $20,968 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,082 | $20,500 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,086 | $17,990 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,000 | $20,500 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,439 | $20,018 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,884 | $21,000 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,747 | $23,750 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,370 | $21,500 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,637 | $20,594 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,243 | $17,946 |
| Philosophy and Religious Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,267 | $21,250 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,508 | $19,000 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $16,916 | $19,500 |

## 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 James Madison University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?232423

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