Which Arkansas State bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Plant Science graduates leave with a median of $15,125 in federal loans, the lowest among 24 Arkansas State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Arkansas State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $8,090 a year, and $14,522 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $12,366 a year.

How many Arkansas State programs report graduate pay?

28 bachelor's programs and 2 associate's programs at Arkansas State report first-year pay, and 26 of them also report federal debt.

Arkansas State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Arkansas State University
Public university
Jonesboro, AR
9,110 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

28 Arkansas State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Mechanical Engineering pays the most in the first year ($74,284), and Biology the least ($25,730). The median program pays $36,790. Arkansas State also has 2 associate's programs that report pay.

In-state tuition and fees$8,090Per year. Out-of-state $14,522

Average net price after aid$12,366Per year

Graduation rate55%Within 6 years

Admission rate82%Of applicants

All 28 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Arkansas" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Arkansas. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Arkansas
1	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 25 graduates a year	$74,284	$73,570	Not reported	1st of 4
2	NursingAbout 197 graduates a year	$73,423	$81,485	$26,355	2nd of 13
3	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 36 graduates a year	$60,202	$57,142	$20,000	2nd of 3
4	AccountingAbout 31 graduates a year	$58,152	$54,243	$21,351	3rd of 8
5	Medical Laboratory ScienceAbout 16 graduates a year	$56,697	$53,603	Not reported	2nd of 2
6	Plant ScienceAbout 15 graduates a year	$49,536	$49,310	$15,125	1st of 1
7	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 23 graduates a year	$46,227	$81,248	$23,204	5th of 7
8	MarketingAbout 40 graduates a year	$44,051	$48,842	$26,241	3rd of 4
9	Agricultural BusinessAbout 44 graduates a year	$43,804	$59,051	$22,239	3rd of 6
10	FinanceAbout 39 graduates a year	$43,060	$56,547	$20,915	6th of 6
11	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 49 graduates a year	$41,530	$45,755	$25,134	3rd of 8
12	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 49 graduates a year	$40,812	Not reported	$23,250	1st of 3
13	CommunicationsAbout 16 graduates a year	$40,192	$44,327	$21,250	1st of 7
14	Teacher EducationAbout 101 graduates a year	$36,847	$40,839	$21,424	10th of 11
15	CriminologyAbout 61 graduates a year	$36,732	$40,796	$27,875	2nd of 2
16	Business AdministrationAbout 166 graduates a year	$36,007	$48,927	$22,000	9th of 12
17	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 16 graduates a year	$35,970	$46,812	Not reported	3rd of 7
18	EnglishAbout 12 graduates a year	$35,114	$44,879	$22,125	2nd of 6
19	SociologyAbout 25 graduates a year	$34,105	$41,995	$38,064	1st of 4
20	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 177 graduates a year	$33,881	$42,203	$27,000	3rd of 10
21	Social WorkAbout 26 graduates a year	$33,140	$49,629	$29,370	4th of 7
22	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 81 graduates a year	$32,685	$54,271	$26,000	1st of 7
23	MathematicsAbout 9 graduates a year	$32,625	$43,276	$20,500	3rd of 3
24	Animal ScienceAbout 17 graduates a year	$31,444	$47,579	Not reported	2nd of 2
25	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 26 graduates a year	$31,324	$39,096	$22,937	1st of 1
26	Health SciencesAbout 19 graduates a year	$30,586	$49,591	$23,251	2nd of 2
27	PsychologyAbout 175 graduates a year	$29,198	$40,863	$22,222	8th of 12
28	BiologyAbout 62 graduates a year	$25,730	$59,828	$22,500	9th of 9

Program names link to the program's own page, and Arkansas ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five Arkansas programs in the field do too.

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

3 more bachelor's programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Both associate's programs

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Arkansas" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Arkansas.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Arkansas
NursingAbout 109 graduates a year	$70,358	$69,528	$25,750	3rd of 18
Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 59 graduates a year	$41,060	$51,621	$16,867	2nd of 3

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Mechanical Engineering$74,284
Nursing$73,423
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$60,202
Accounting$58,152
Medical Laboratory Science$56,697

Lowest median debt

Plant Science$15,125
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$20,000
Mathematics$20,500
Finance$20,915
Communications$21,250

Largest programs

NursingAbout 197 graduates a year
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 177 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 175 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 166 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 101 graduates a year

Common questions

Mechanical Engineering graduates earn a median of $74,284 in their first year, the most of 28 Arkansas State bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Arkansas rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels