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

# Washington State University

Pullman, WA · 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 | $68,905 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $43,186 – $97,582 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,853 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 61% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $27,648 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 80% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.22× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $40,905 | derived |

**61% 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 $14,853 (≈ 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 $21,625 to $111,957 across 68 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Engineering-Related Fields. | Master's Degree | $111,957 | not reported |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration. | First Professional Degree | $110,911 | $137,435 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $106,275 | $64,792 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $90,080 | $53,547 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $80,693 | $19,902 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $76,468 | $34,582 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $74,995 | not reported |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $73,112 | $20,000 |
| Construction Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,092 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,866 | $13,476 |
| Agriculture, General. | Master's Degree | $70,487 | $28,097 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $69,531 | $18,546 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,508 | $20,780 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,194 | $18,836 |
| Materials Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,524 | $28,750 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Master's Degree | $59,866 | not reported |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Master's Degree | $58,826 | not reported |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $58,369 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $58,257 | $32,657 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Master's Degree | $57,410 | $26,714 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Master's Degree | $56,974 | not reported |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $55,794 | $43,945 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,442 | $22,500 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,900 | $22,175 |
| Architecture. | Master's Degree | $53,656 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,507 | $19,443 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences. | Master's Degree | $51,289 | $32,990 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,289 | $19,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,187 | $21,500 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,686 | $25,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,458 | $20,819 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,605 | $16,819 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,358 | $19,500 |
| Applied Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,068 | $16,139 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $45,933 | not reported |
| Plant Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,410 | $15,828 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,178 | not reported |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,683 | $24,604 |
| Agricultural Production Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,571 | $17,395 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,530 | $19,112 |
| Public Policy Analysis. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,057 | not reported |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,870 | $23,207 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,657 | $19,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,884 | not reported |
| Social Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,484 | $21,551 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,432 | $19,538 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,117 | $20,435 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,926 | $20,500 |
| Biological and Physical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,602 | $18,853 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,566 | $22,978 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,142 | $20,500 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,136 | $22,266 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,968 | $20,625 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,510 | $21,150 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,834 | $19,515 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,809 | $24,503 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,957 | $19,365 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,941 | $21,250 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,808 | $18,750 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,435 | $21,450 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,289 | $18,647 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,993 | $16,500 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,989 | $20,433 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,015 | not reported |
| Animal Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,296 | $18,000 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,161 | $17,000 |
| Zoology/Animal Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,981 | $17,625 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,625 | not reported |

## 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 Washington State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?236939

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