Ball State Hospitality Management (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Hospitality Administration/Management
- Public university
- Muncie, IN
- About 10 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Ball State hospitality management graduates earn less than graduates of most hospitality management programs nationally, $28,071 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,148 in federal loans, close to the national median of $23,905. Several Indiana programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Indiana and national columns are the medians across all hospitality management bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Indiana hospitality management program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Indiana medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $256 a month, or 10.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
73% of graduates (36 of 49) were working in Indiana one year after graduating. Prices in the Muncie area are about 12% below the national average, so a $28,071 salary here buys what about $31,845 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to hospitality management, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Food Service Managers
$71,430Median pay in Indiana. 4,990 people work in this job in Indiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Facilities Managers
$104,560Median pay in Indiana. 4,110 people work in this job in Indiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners
$50,090Median pay in Indiana. 2,140 people work in this job in Indiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Tour and Travel Guides
$31,030Median pay in Indiana. 700 people work in this job in Indiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
About Ball State
Hospitality Management ranks 50th of 53 bachelor's programs at Ball State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($73,719), Construction Management ($69,076), and Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($67,833).
Other hospitality management bachelor's programs near Muncie
Common questions
The median graduate earns $28,071 one year after graduating. The median across hospitality management bachelor's programs in Indiana is $35,582.
The median federal loan balance is $24,148, which ranks 2nd lowest of 5 hospitality management bachelor's programs in Indiana. That works out to about $256 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 86% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other Indiana programs before deciding.
Most do. 73% (36 of 49) were working in Indiana one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- 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 Indiana comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the hospitality management program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024