---
title: Pacific Lutheran University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Tacoma, WA
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Pacific Lutheran University

Tacoma, WA · Private nonprofit · 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 | $66,990 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $44,167 – $88,955 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $17,074 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $5,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 69% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $62,459 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 80% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.26× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $38,990 | derived |

**69% 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 $17,074 (≈ 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 $20,987 to $75,084 across 23 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $75,084 | $82,634 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $69,659 | $27,000 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,051 | $23,534 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $61,461 | $34,896 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $59,828 | $39,150 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,494 | $19,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,648 | $29,740 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Master's Degree | $49,431 | not reported |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,580 | $19,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,050 | $20,750 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,943 | $22,933 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $37,994 | $72,057 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,589 | $22,604 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,575 | $20,825 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,749 | $26,525 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,516 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,221 | $21,969 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,895 | $22,500 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,207 | $25,000 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,725 | not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,155 | $20,981 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,237 | $20,500 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,987 | 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 Pacific Lutheran University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?236230

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