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

# Portland State University

Portland, OR · 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 | $57,906 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $33,117 – $85,203 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $15,457 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $11,000 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 53% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $21,590 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 73% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.27× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $29,906 | derived |

**53% 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 $15,457 (≈ 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 $16,613 to $122,413 across 79 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Computer Science. | Master's Degree | $122,413 | $24,484 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Master's Degree | $97,974 | $24,428 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $84,403 | $39,595 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $81,059 | $25,000 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $77,465 | not reported |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $76,452 | $25,000 |
| Real Estate. | Master's Degree | $73,970 | $39,144 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,696 | $23,875 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Master's Degree | $71,050 | not reported |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $66,319 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,670 | $23,000 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,483 | $22,470 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $59,427 | $52,500 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Master's Degree | $58,166 | not reported |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Master's Degree | $56,513 | $25,750 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $56,109 | $41,000 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,612 | not reported |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Master's Degree | $52,183 | not reported |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning. | Master's Degree | $50,449 | $39,229 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $50,385 | $47,784 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,432 | $16,444 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $49,417 | $40,595 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Post-baccalaureate Certificate | $48,813 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $48,242 | $40,495 |
| Architecture. | Master's Degree | $48,151 | not reported |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,209 | $23,000 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $47,060 | $33,391 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,148 | $19,901 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $45,477 | $61,197 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $45,111 | $30,833 |
| General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,849 | not reported |
| Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. | Master's Degree | $44,309 | not reported |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,198 | $24,000 |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,051 | $18,791 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Master's Degree | $39,584 | not reported |
| Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,501 | $18,000 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,299 | $22,221 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,870 | $18,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,472 | $20,499 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,317 | $23,100 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,250 | $22,630 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,768 | $20,834 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,657 | $21,253 |
| Music. | Master's Degree | $34,362 | not reported |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,967 | $16,476 |
| Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,771 | not reported |
| Architecture. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,692 | $25,000 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,558 | $21,500 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,245 | $20,000 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Master's Degree | $32,164 | $41,000 |
| Biological and Physical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,021 | $21,720 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,991 | $22,604 |
| Social Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,905 | $21,914 |
| Publishing. | Master's Degree | $31,328 | $41,000 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,308 | $19,083 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,441 | $22,750 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,278 | $19,655 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,216 | $20,750 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,851 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,548 | $23,000 |
| Community Organization and Advocacy. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,429 | $19,500 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,076 | $24,423 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,778 | $21,666 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,412 | $24,506 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,107 | $19,513 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,090 | $17,937 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,557 | $25,000 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,965 | $18,376 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,943 | $21,771 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,896 | $23,499 |
| East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,377 | $25,000 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,916 | $19,500 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,757 | $29,399 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,124 | $23,250 |
| Philosophy. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,484 | $18,822 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,381 | $26,296 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,913 | $27,000 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,507 | $21,480 |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language. | Master's Degree | $16,613 | 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 Portland State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?209807

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