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

# San Diego State University

San Diego, CA · 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 | $64,909 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $39,563 – $94,570 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,847 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 76% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $27,780 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 80% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.20× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $36,909 | derived |

**76% 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 $12,847 (≈ 20% 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 $17,224 to $120,339 across 72 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Doctoral Degree | $120,339 | $64,225 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $100,359 | not reported |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Master's Degree | $94,555 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $89,225 | $17,375 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $84,200 | $55,840 |
| Construction Engineering Technology/Technician. | Bachelor's Degree | $79,248 | not reported |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $74,008 | $74,580 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $73,334 | $17,249 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,385 | $17,999 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $71,000 | $38,020 |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design. | Master's Degree | $68,268 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,965 | $19,499 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $65,842 | $20,000 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,495 | $19,832 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $63,379 | $13,666 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,997 | $16,866 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $62,593 | not reported |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,870 | $23,417 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $59,594 | $28,278 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,240 | $16,997 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $53,580 | $38,020 |
| Psychology, General. | Master's Degree | $53,079 | $30,710 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,355 | $16,375 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $52,099 | $24,662 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $52,005 | $22,395 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $47,952 | $24,008 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,713 | $15,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,197 | $15,218 |
| Applied Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,625 | $23,793 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $44,430 | $39,964 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,228 | $15,000 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,577 | $15,000 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,818 | $15,250 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,595 | $13,110 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,950 | $17,999 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,950 | $15,000 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,297 | $21,500 |
| Statistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,895 | $13,125 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,838 | $16,111 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,249 | $23,080 |
| Public Administration. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,977 | $14,999 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,581 | $15,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,509 | $15,000 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,442 | $13,832 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,791 | $14,998 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Master's Degree | $33,295 | $47,128 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,271 | $12,726 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,248 | $26,150 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,006 | $18,010 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,780 | $8,772 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,608 | $14,999 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,838 | $12,500 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,547 | $13,499 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,004 | $17,364 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,861 | $15,225 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,674 | $15,124 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,639 | not reported |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,033 | $13,881 |
| Social Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,805 | $20,081 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,106 | $12,886 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,064 | $12,691 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,059 | $14,957 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,695 | $14,872 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,662 | $12,838 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,520 | $15,285 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,209 | $15,122 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,147 | $15,332 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,879 | $14,000 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,178 | $15,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,994 | $10,299 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,508 | $11,000 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $17,224 | $15,383 |

## 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 San Diego State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?122409

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