---
title: Southern Arkansas University Main Campus — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Magnolia, AR
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Southern Arkansas University Main Campus

Magnolia, AR · 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 | $42,386 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $25,370 – $61,851 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $7,808 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 49% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $24,951 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 65% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.29× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $14,386 | derived |

**49% 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 $12,500 (≈ 30% 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 $23,408 to $55,929 across 14 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,929 | $19,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $54,230 | $29,480 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,362 | $22,250 |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design. | Master's Degree | $42,900 | $17,362 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $40,910 | $63,324 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $39,925 | $24,625 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,536 | $12,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $38,796 | not reported |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,784 | $21,861 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,781 | $17,122 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,986 | $23,199 |
| Community Organization and Advocacy. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,784 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,866 | $20,375 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,408 | $24,125 |

## 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 Southern Arkansas University Main Campus by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?107983

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/southern-arkansas-university-main-campus-ar.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`