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

# Northeastern State University

Tahlequah, OK · 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 | $45,379 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $28,117 – $63,320 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,250 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 35% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $21,551 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 68% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.26× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $17,379 | derived |

**35% 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 $12,000 (≈ 26% 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 $19,225 to $91,928 across 37 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Optometry. | First Professional Degree | $91,928 | $158,826 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $73,983 | $46,939 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $71,426 | $16,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,542 | $12,500 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,349 | $17,565 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $54,291 | $33,410 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $47,611 | $32,894 |
| Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,638 | $14,924 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,864 | $19,500 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,367 | not reported |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,315 | $18,225 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $43,272 | $23,000 |
| Library Science and Administration. | Master's Degree | $42,914 | $28,772 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,846 | $19,000 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,264 | $17,829 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,142 | $19,297 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,917 | $18,788 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $40,046 | $40,699 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,043 | $15,750 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,401 | $22,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $36,550 | not reported |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,946 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,780 | $17,499 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,638 | $23,250 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,828 | $20,548 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,029 | $18,054 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,865 | $16,250 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,510 | not reported |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,487 | $20,000 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,781 | not reported |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,174 | $18,547 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,699 | not reported |
| Research and Experimental Psychology. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,582 | $18,579 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,424 | not reported |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,370 | $18,027 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,363 | $14,750 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,225 | not reported |

## 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 Northeastern State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?207263

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