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

# Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Blacksburg, VA · 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 | $81,698 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $53,415 – $113,356 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $19,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $7,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 86% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $36,951 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 87% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.23× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $53,698 | derived |

**86% 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 $19,000 (≈ 23% 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 $19,929 to $105,287 across 73 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $105,287 | $32,567 |
| Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services, Other. | Master's Degree | $97,383 | $33,240 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Master's Degree | $90,529 | not reported |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Master's Degree | $85,390 | not reported |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $82,448 | $20,500 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Doctoral Degree | $81,573 | $61,500 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $80,460 | not reported |
| Applied Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $76,413 | $20,000 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $75,104 | $25,929 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $73,162 | $23,562 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,805 | $24,875 |
| Industrial Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,925 | $22,625 |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $70,394 | $19,050 |
| Construction Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $69,047 | $27,000 |
| Mining and Mineral Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $69,045 | $20,907 |
| Construction Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,755 | $26,349 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,574 | $22,500 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,610 | $21,500 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,226 | $25,833 |
| Engineering Mechanics. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,144 | $27,500 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,758 | $25,000 |
| Engineering-Related Fields. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,198 | $23,750 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $61,911 | $18,304 |
| Materials Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,906 | $27,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,629 | $18,500 |
| Agricultural Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,131 | $26,125 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,846 | $21,500 |
| Architecture. | Master's Degree | $59,580 | $44,712 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $59,370 | not reported |
| Medicine. | First Professional Degree | $58,198 | $251,904 |
| Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy. | Master's Degree | $55,619 | $38,924 |
| Architecture. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,246 | $29,000 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,028 | $22,375 |
| Agriculture, General. | Master's Degree | $51,520 | not reported |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $51,024 | $29,395 |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning. | Master's Degree | $49,661 | $27,486 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,648 | $22,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,620 | $22,017 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,418 | $23,900 |
| Food Science and Technology. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,390 | $26,875 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,314 | $24,500 |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Master's Degree | $47,004 | $20,500 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Master's Degree | $45,949 | not reported |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Business Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,837 | $22,450 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $44,545 | not reported |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,249 | $22,125 |
| Agricultural Business and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,242 | $22,999 |
| Statistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,729 | $15,500 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,493 | $26,816 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,039 | $21,250 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,529 | $23,500 |
| Forestry. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,479 | $20,663 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,346 | $22,875 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,639 | $20,500 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,639 | $22,562 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,622 | $20,499 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,455 | $22,500 |
| Agricultural Production Operations. | Associate's Degree | $33,436 | $11,000 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,269 | $19,500 |
| Plant Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,134 | $18,955 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,060 | $26,000 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,684 | $24,000 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,897 | $24,817 |
| Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,714 | $23,250 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,797 | $20,500 |
| Animal Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,809 | $22,250 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,171 | $21,500 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,556 | not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,442 | $21,625 |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,946 | $24,017 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,263 | $20,164 |
| Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,497 | $21,390 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,929 | $22,300 |

## 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 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?233921

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/virginia-polytechnic-institute-and-state-university-va.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`