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

# North Dakota State University-Main Campus

Fargo, ND · 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 | $62,203 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $43,700 – $85,613 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $16,750 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $6,750 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 64% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $23,716 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 83% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.27× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $34,203 | derived |

**64% 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 $16,750 (≈ 27% 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 $21,840 to $112,561 across 54 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration. | First Professional Degree | $112,561 | $79,304 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $98,645 | $46,124 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $69,521 | $21,050 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $67,258 | not reported |
| Construction Engineering Technology/Technician. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,728 | $27,000 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,224 | $26,097 |
| Industrial Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,818 | $25,625 |
| Manufacturing Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,687 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,449 | $24,250 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,547 | $22,250 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,793 | $25,000 |
| Plant Sciences. | Master's Degree | $59,359 | not reported |
| Agricultural Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,019 | not reported |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,747 | $27,000 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $54,176 | $18,865 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $53,826 | not reported |
| Agricultural Business and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,629 | $17,875 |
| Agricultural Production Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,496 | $21,500 |
| Architecture. | Master's Degree | $50,629 | $20,293 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $50,200 | not reported |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,002 | $31,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,671 | $23,250 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,788 | $22,875 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,369 | $23,250 |
| Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy. | Master's Degree | $45,074 | not reported |
| Agricultural Mechanization. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,857 | not reported |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,462 | $23,324 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,435 | not reported |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,806 | $21,500 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,653 | not reported |
| Homeland Security. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,071 | $27,000 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Master's Degree | $42,054 | not reported |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,988 | $21,125 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,964 | $22,500 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $41,655 | $38,791 |
| Business/Corporate Communications. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,517 | $25,250 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,922 | $26,625 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,309 | $17,815 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,136 | $21,500 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,104 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,980 | $24,791 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,749 | $21,968 |
| Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,378 | $25,125 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,776 | not reported |
| Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,407 | not reported |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,734 | $22,775 |
| Animal Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,090 | $21,439 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,052 | $21,500 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,924 | $24,520 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,020 | $22,736 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,958 | $20,342 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,447 | $21,784 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,867 | $21,500 |
| Zoology/Animal Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,840 | $23,808 |

## 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 North Dakota State University-Main Campus by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?200332

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/north-dakota-state-university-main-campus-nd.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`