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

# Wayne State University

Detroit, MI · 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 | $53,493 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $29,797 – $79,117 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $16,597 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $10,866 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 58% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $27,350 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 70% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.31× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $25,493 | 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 $16,597 (≈ 31% 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 $20,196 to $111,568 across 80 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $111,568 | $50,500 |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration. | Doctoral Degree | $109,713 | $117,691 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Master's Degree | $99,273 | $70,614 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $93,055 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $80,257 | $36,424 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $78,840 | $47,671 |
| Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $78,723 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $76,864 | $23,182 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $73,198 | $18,750 |
| Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,343 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,849 | $22,500 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $71,440 | $87,014 |
| Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,278 | $23,167 |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $66,116 | not reported |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,406 | $26,500 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $63,925 | not reported |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $63,872 | $61,466 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,013 | $24,468 |
| Psychology, General. | Doctoral Degree | $59,883 | not reported |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $59,772 | $25,500 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,865 | $27,500 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,638 | $25,000 |
| Medicine. | First Professional Degree | $55,813 | $165,514 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $55,521 | $41,000 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $55,405 | $41,000 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,142 | $21,542 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $54,375 | $35,500 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,221 | $23,695 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,860 | $18,750 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $52,734 | $46,173 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,667 | $18,507 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $51,309 | $40,245 |
| Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education. | Master's Degree | $50,869 | not reported |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $50,536 | not reported |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,303 | $19,735 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $48,949 | $37,604 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,388 | $27,000 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $47,441 | not reported |
| Funeral Service and Mortuary Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,187 | $15,011 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $46,107 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $45,073 | $41,009 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,746 | $20,125 |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,409 | $20,375 |
| Library Science and Administration. | Master's Degree | $43,205 | $38,546 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $43,196 | $39,500 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $43,056 | $30,750 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $42,944 | $80,955 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Master's Degree | $41,730 | not reported |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,710 | $25,000 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,585 | $35,750 |
| Library Science and Administration. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $40,281 | $44,655 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Master's Degree | $38,791 | $33,381 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,556 | $26,811 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,314 | $30,953 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,595 | $24,055 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,437 | $19,374 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,519 | $25,500 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,704 | $27,725 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,562 | not reported |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,349 | $22,250 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,028 | $21,250 |
| Public Administration. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,693 | $23,086 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Master's Degree | $29,429 | not reported |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,921 | $25,486 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,106 | $21,054 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,898 | $20,500 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,699 | $23,250 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,658 | $29,617 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,984 | $23,000 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,902 | $30,500 |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,542 | $20,568 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,489 | $18,028 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,007 | $21,400 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,971 | $25,000 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,350 | $20,195 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,098 | $19,384 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,061 | $24,113 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,351 | $22,441 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,218 | $21,853 |
| Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other. | Master's Degree | $20,196 | $41,000 |

## 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 Wayne State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?172644

---

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