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

# Southeast Missouri State University

Cape Girardeau, MO · 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 | $44,030 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $29,197 – $63,909 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,750 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,250 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 58% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $25,177 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 70% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.34× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $16,030 | derived |

**58% 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 $14,750 (≈ 34% 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 $21,440 to $59,369 across 37 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,369 | $20,296 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $56,803 | not reported |
| Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,063 | $20,854 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,908 | $22,500 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $44,267 | $33,488 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,023 | $18,402 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $43,217 | $17,384 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $42,014 | $34,697 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,335 | $21,497 |
| Agricultural Business and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,320 | $13,000 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,714 | $24,395 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,597 | $24,908 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $37,658 | $14,279 |
| Social Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,090 | $23,323 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,159 | $18,750 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,772 | $21,487 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $34,966 | not reported |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,899 | $17,750 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,855 | $18,985 |
| Plant Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,778 | $17,355 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,215 | not reported |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,774 | $22,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,558 | $24,000 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,329 | $23,876 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,942 | $25,000 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,454 | $22,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,916 | $22,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,430 | $21,500 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,965 | $21,970 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,583 | $24,310 |
| Animal Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,190 | not reported |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,634 | $23,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,035 | $19,407 |
| International/Globalization Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,906 | $25,000 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,508 | $28,625 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,462 | $19,000 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,440 | $23,320 |

## 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 Southeast Missouri State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?179557

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