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

# William Paterson University of New Jersey

Wayne, NJ · 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 | $57,780 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $36,177 – $80,501 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $15,750 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 44% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $28,476 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 76% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.27× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $29,780 | derived |

**44% 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 $15,750 (≈ 27% 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 $22,365 to $104,847 across 36 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $104,847 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $75,485 | $21,793 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $63,945 | $21,066 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $60,998 | $27,245 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $59,792 | $40,758 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $59,576 | not reported |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $56,661 | $26,449 |
| General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,414 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,354 | $20,750 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,054 | $25,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,852 | $20,834 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,547 | $22,000 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $46,363 | $49,500 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,724 | $19,786 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,063 | $22,250 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,870 | not reported |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,517 | $24,020 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,408 | not reported |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,846 | $23,000 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,302 | $24,500 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,787 | $22,500 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,636 | $22,875 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,603 | not reported |
| Non-Professional Legal Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,667 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,361 | $23,329 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,604 | $23,000 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,816 | $25,000 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,530 | $20,750 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,120 | $25,000 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,885 | $20,306 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,863 | $22,093 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,358 | $24,750 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,604 | $23,638 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,106 | $25,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,381 | $24,250 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,365 | $24,256 |

## 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 William Paterson University of New Jersey by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?187444

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/william-paterson-university-of-new-jersey-nj.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`