Which Cal State Long Beach major has the lowest debt?

Romance Languages graduates leave with a median of $10,250 in federal loans, the lowest among 59 Cal State Long Beach bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Cal State Long Beach cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $7,350 a year, and $19,950 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $10,440 a year.

How many Cal State Long Beach programs report graduate pay?

61 bachelor's programs at Cal State Long Beach report first-year pay, and 59 of them also report federal debt.

Cal State Long Beach Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

California State University-Long Beach
Public university
Long Beach, CA
35,924 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

61 Cal State Long Beach bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($100,178), and Music the least ($18,352). The median program pays $34,247.

In-state tuition and fees$7,350Per year. Out-of-state $19,950

Average net price after aid$10,440Per year

Graduation rate69%Within 6 years

Admission rate46%Of applicants

All 61 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in California" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across California. 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 California
1	NursingAbout 157 graduates a year	$100,178	$113,863	$18,661	22nd of 35
2	Construction Engineering TechnologyAbout 53 graduates a year	$89,003	$116,039	$17,866	1st of 6
3	Computer EngineeringAbout 60 graduates a year	$79,809	$108,748	$15,759	8th of 19
4	Electrical EngineeringAbout 113 graduates a year	$77,278	$101,607	$19,750	12th of 21
5	Civil EngineeringAbout 134 graduates a year	$73,342	$98,200	$16,437	12th of 20
6	Aerospace EngineeringAbout 92 graduates a year	$66,477	$99,098	$25,300	8th of 9
7	Biomedical EngineeringAbout 66 graduates a year	$66,090	Not reported	$15,720	9th of 15
8	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 234 graduates a year	$60,996	$97,895	$17,653	24th of 26
9	Computer ScienceAbout 306 graduates a year	$60,378	$93,142	$14,619	27th of 39
10	Electrical Engineering TechnologyAbout 9 graduates a year	$57,069	$80,484	Not reported	3rd of 3
11	AccountingGraduates a year not reported	$54,315	$78,508	$14,899	21st of 23
12	ChemistryAbout 52 graduates a year	$50,553	$80,456	$15,680	3rd of 23
13	FinanceGraduates a year not reported	$48,961	$68,305	$15,000	9th of 12
14	Management Information SystemsGraduates a year not reported	$48,825	$82,271	$12,750	6th of 6
15	MicrobiologyAbout 22 graduates a year	$48,631	$70,860	Not reported	5th of 13
16	Human ResourcesGraduates a year not reported	$46,453	$65,611	$12,733	3rd of 6
17	Business AdministrationAbout 1,359 graduates a year	$45,751	$66,801	$15,000	41st of 57
18	Chemical EngineeringAbout 34 graduates a year	$45,164	$91,493	$16,374	10th of 10
19	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 146 graduates a year	$43,594	$65,179	$12,936	5th of 6
20	Social WorkAbout 69 graduates a year	$42,925	$64,415	$11,276	3rd of 16
21	PhysicsAbout 32 graduates a year	$42,057	$79,330	$23,229	9th of 11
22	MarketingGraduates a year not reported	$40,976	$62,561	$14,087	10th of 13
23	Business EconomicsAbout 33 graduates a year	$38,967	$66,980	$18,329	7th of 8
24	EconomicsAbout 94 graduates a year	$38,475	$66,961	$18,375	30th of 35
25	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 108 graduates a year	$37,395	$67,824	$17,215	6th of 27
26	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 61 graduates a year	$36,841	$68,989	$11,000	14th of 19
27	Parks and RecreationAbout 46 graduates a year	$35,532	$47,459	$14,500	4th of 9
28	Ecology and EvolutionAbout 38 graduates a year	$35,436	Not reported	$19,948	2nd of 10
29	BiologyAbout 305 graduates a year	$35,053	$65,092	$13,000	18th of 47
30	Hospitality ManagementAbout 57 graduates a year	$34,560	$46,668	$17,125	3rd of 7
31	Criminal JusticeAbout 286 graduates a year	$34,247	$62,999	$15,000	17th of 20
32	CommunicationsAbout 332 graduates a year	$34,172	$58,497	$13,953	25th of 39
33	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 52 graduates a year	$33,870	$68,028	$13,575	14th of 24
34	Public HealthGraduates a year not reported	$32,880	$61,686	$13,480	15th of 16
35	GeographyAbout 46 graduates a year	$32,198	$54,468	$15,000	9th of 13
36	Political ScienceAbout 202 graduates a year	$32,168	$59,758	$14,928	28th of 44
37	MathematicsAbout 92 graduates a year	$32,162	$59,026	$18,000	18th of 23
38	Family and Consumer SciencesAbout 300 graduates a year	$32,008	$47,210	$12,906	5th of 5
39	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 300 graduates a year	$31,802	$52,433	$15,500	16th of 34
40	International StudiesAbout 36 graduates a year	$31,589	Not reported	$15,454	8th of 9
41	SociologyAbout 277 graduates a year	$31,270	$53,402	$12,831	31st of 42
42	DanceAbout 37 graduates a year	$30,686	$27,350	$20,500	1st of 7
43	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 99 graduates a year	$30,205	$52,033	$15,000	11th of 14
44	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 65 graduates a year	$29,270	$66,231	$12,000	4th of 13
45	JournalismAbout 84 graduates a year	$28,844	$54,294	$15,000	13th of 14
46	Area StudiesAbout 51 graduates a year	$28,591	$51,211	$15,697	4th of 8
47	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 54 graduates a year	$28,226	Not reported	$23,012	10th of 10
48	Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender StudiesAbout 70 graduates a year	$27,726	$50,464	$12,187	16th of 21
49	PsychologyAbout 597 graduates a year	$27,511	$55,066	$12,000	46th of 54
50	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaGraduates a year not reported	$25,988	$41,621	$15,000	6th of 12
51	HistoryAbout 131 graduates a year	$25,014	$48,818	$15,000	22nd of 30
52	DieteticsGraduates a year not reported	$23,110	$66,995	$13,625	2nd of 2
53	EnglishAbout 272 graduates a year	$22,933	$53,709	$13,749	29th of 35
54	AnthropologyAbout 70 graduates a year	$22,351	$39,659	$12,500	20th of 22
55	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 264 graduates a year	$22,148	$56,995	$14,551	31st of 31
56	Writing and RhetoricGraduates a year not reported	$21,854	$43,603	$15,394	8th of 10
57	Romance LanguagesAbout 53 graduates a year	$21,609	$48,906	$10,250	20th of 23
58	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 456 graduates a year	$21,493	$42,341	$16,583	18th of 29
59	TheatreAbout 80 graduates a year	$19,231	$26,450	$15,000	17th of 23
60	Linguistics and Language StudiesAbout 48 graduates a year	$18,393	$40,052	$12,580	12th of 12
61	MusicAbout 86 graduates a year	$18,352	Not reported	$20,550	20th of 24

Program names link to the program's own page, and California 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 California 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.

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

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$100,178
Construction Engineering Technology$89,003
Computer Engineering$79,809
Electrical Engineering$77,278
Civil Engineering$73,342

Lowest median debt

Romance Languages$10,250
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology$11,000
Social Work$11,276
Communication Sciences and Disorders$12,000
Psychology$12,000

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 1,359 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 597 graduates a year
Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 456 graduates a year
CommunicationsAbout 332 graduates a year
Computer ScienceAbout 306 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $100,178 in their first year, the most of 61 Cal State Long Beach 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 California 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