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

# Winona State University

Winona, MN · 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 | $58,532 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $43,033 – $77,702 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $15,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,000 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 57% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $23,683 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 81% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.26× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $30,532 | derived |

**57% 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 $15,000 (≈ 26% 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 $25,427 to $103,580 across 30 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $103,580 | $44,750 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $98,750 | not reported |
| Materials Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,265 | $22,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,934 | $21,787 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,844 | $19,874 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,428 | $20,410 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,397 | $19,751 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,501 | $24,269 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,772 | $24,200 |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,429 | $20,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,074 | $21,417 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,623 | $27,000 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,050 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,999 | $20,225 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,401 | $25,600 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,804 | $23,225 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,651 | $22,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,552 | $25,000 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,437 | $21,687 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,367 | $21,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,922 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,002 | $22,315 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,768 | $24,908 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,503 | $19,750 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,952 | $23,438 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,238 | $19,891 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,017 | $22,500 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Associate's Degree | $28,721 | $12,000 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,308 | $19,575 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,427 | $26,500 |

## 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 Winona State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?175272

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