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

# University of San Diego

San Diego, CA · 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 | $86,522 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $56,511 – $125,761 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $19,019 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,721 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 84% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $78,720 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 83% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.22× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $58,522 | derived |

**84% 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 $19,019 (≈ 22% 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 $20,389 to $116,926 across 41 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Master's Degree | $116,926 | $31,918 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $114,672 | $105,176 |
| Medical Illustration and Informatics. | Master's Degree | $98,393 | $48,680 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $96,329 | $119,008 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $95,123 | $48,756 |
| Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies. | Master's Degree | $91,786 | $135,168 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $83,862 | $19,500 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Doctoral Degree | $76,845 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,417 | $29,276 |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $71,367 | $145,850 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,424 | $26,187 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $67,248 | $33,705 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,809 | $24,969 |
| Real Estate. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,970 | $19,699 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,434 | $23,094 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,050 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $53,214 | $54,416 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,478 | $19,348 |
| Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. | Master's Degree | $52,055 | $56,673 |
| Business/Managerial Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,619 | not reported |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $51,290 | $53,519 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $51,124 | not reported |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,592 | $20,569 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $50,106 | not reported |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $49,390 | not reported |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Master's Degree | $48,835 | $44,186 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,084 | $19,899 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $46,608 | $107,772 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $44,347 | $100,657 |
| Legal Support Services. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $43,136 | $18,540 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,639 | $24,000 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,981 | $27,000 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,945 | $20,500 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,227 | $24,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,181 | $22,500 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,411 | $25,344 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,886 | $25,000 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,669 | $25,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,738 | $23,000 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,959 | $24,100 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,389 | $23,118 |

## 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 University of San Diego by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?122436

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