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

# Western Michigan University

Kalamazoo, 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 | $53,562 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $34,853 – $76,786 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $20,115 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $11,780 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 58% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $29,237 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 77% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.38× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $25,562 | 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 $20,115 (≈ 38% 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 $18,708 to $102,212 across 74 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Master's Degree | $102,212 | $88,297 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $77,392 | $43,731 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,069 | $27,000 |
| Industrial Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $69,454 | not reported |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Doctoral Degree | $69,346 | $68,549 |
| Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,647 | $29,875 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,831 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,557 | $29,000 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,118 | $27,000 |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Master's Degree | $63,708 | not reported |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,559 | $29,000 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,325 | $24,750 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,429 | $25,500 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $59,571 | $31,458 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,565 | $27,758 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,143 | $27,000 |
| Engineering-Related Fields. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,803 | $27,000 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $56,452 | $42,250 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $56,011 | $49,498 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $55,217 | $19,549 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $53,974 | $33,951 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $53,864 | $41,608 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $53,258 | $31,253 |
| Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,618 | $26,000 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $51,448 | $31,173 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,945 | $25,000 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,118 | $29,646 |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design. | Master's Degree | $47,854 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $47,417 | $35,733 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,518 | $24,250 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,347 | $25,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,500 | $25,000 |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,409 | $26,000 |
| Air Transportation. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,255 | $25,500 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $42,568 | $46,387 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $41,525 | $28,579 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,756 | $31,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Master's Degree | $40,545 | not reported |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $40,534 | not reported |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $39,731 | $61,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,409 | $27,506 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $38,700 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,022 | $30,750 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,192 | not reported |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,894 | $25,146 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,184 | $22,250 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,068 | $27,000 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,334 | $26,000 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,123 | $25,033 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,776 | $25,000 |
| International/Globalization Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,250 | $26,687 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,204 | $26,060 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,073 | $25,000 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,775 | not reported |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,707 | $23,362 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,882 | $24,250 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,671 | $25,060 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,743 | $23,375 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,516 | $27,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,081 | $25,000 |
| Specialized Sales, Merchandising and  Marketing Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,959 | $24,885 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,099 | $27,000 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,690 | $24,449 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,235 | $29,000 |
| Music. | Master's Degree | $24,931 | not reported |
| Dance. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,911 | $27,000 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,823 | $26,899 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,760 | $27,000 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,695 | $27,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,541 | $27,000 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,508 | $26,731 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,324 | $27,000 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,207 | $23,442 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $18,708 | $24,007 |

## 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 Western Michigan University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?172699

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