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

# Western Washington University

Bellingham, 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 | $62,569 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $39,304 – $86,564 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $13,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $7,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 65% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $30,359 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 77% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.22× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $34,569 | derived |

**65% 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 $13,500 (≈ 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 $19,765 to $71,492 across 58 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,492 | $9,369 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $69,837 | $18,583 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,568 | $24,000 |
| Manufacturing Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,425 | $21,323 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $61,592 | $38,104 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $60,314 | $26,611 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $58,208 | $27,499 |
| Polymer/Plastics Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,793 | $19,743 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,624 | $21,667 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,090 | $20,043 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,253 | $27,000 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $47,423 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,458 | $24,700 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,243 | $20,567 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,871 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,166 | $16,666 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,065 | $19,084 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,450 | $17,166 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,818 | $19,833 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,384 | not reported |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,176 | $18,500 |
| Applied Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,366 | not reported |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,386 | $20,166 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,788 | $20,012 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,569 | $22,969 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,529 | $20,166 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,510 | $18,151 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,140 | $16,582 |
| Human Services, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,003 | $19,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,487 | $17,887 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,880 | $19,970 |
| Sustainability Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,412 | $19,086 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,100 | $18,675 |
| Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,664 | $21,595 |
| East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,933 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,918 | $18,654 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,803 | $21,727 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,634 | $17,660 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,543 | $19,500 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,288 | $17,500 |
| Health/Medical Preparatory Programs. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,408 | $17,708 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,359 | $17,395 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $26,316 | not reported |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,203 | $14,334 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,202 | $19,207 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,901 | not reported |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,380 | $20,352 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,576 | $19,798 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,557 | $17,100 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,490 | $19,500 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,832 | $19,781 |
| Area Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,659 | $15,000 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,884 | $16,585 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,773 | $17,500 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,536 | $17,604 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,308 | $16,950 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,568 | $20,055 |
| Philosophy. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,765 | 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 Western Washington University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?237011

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