Which Cal State LA major has the lowest debt?

Political Science graduates leave with a median of $10,614 in federal loans, the lowest among 38 Cal State LA bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Cal State LA cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $7,160 a year, and $19,760 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $3,967 a year.

How many Cal State LA programs report graduate pay?

42 bachelor's programs at Cal State LA report first-year pay, and 38 of them also report federal debt.

Cal State LA Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

California State University-Los Angeles
Public university
Los Angeles, CA
19,562 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

42 Cal State LA bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($98,811), and Theatre the least ($16,645). The median program pays $33,516.

In-state tuition and fees$7,160Per year. Out-of-state $19,760

Average net price after aid$3,967Per year

Graduation rate53%Within 6 years

Admission rate91%Of applicants

All 42 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 147 graduates a year	$98,811	$120,317	$18,964	25th of 35
2	Civil EngineeringAbout 63 graduates a year	$73,178	$99,644	$18,767	13th of 20
3	Electrical EngineeringAbout 51 graduates a year	$63,981	$96,348	$14,676	18th of 21
4	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 126 graduates a year	$55,405	$94,122	$13,000	26th of 26
5	Food ScienceAbout 7 graduates a year	$52,806	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 5
6	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 38 graduates a year	$50,428	$66,319	$16,730	3rd of 19
7	Fire ScienceAbout 39 graduates a year	$48,289	$68,683	$11,750	1st of 1
8	AviationGraduates a year not reported	$46,267	$63,042	$15,132	3rd of 3
9	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 88 graduates a year	$45,355	$69,513	$13,000	16th of 18
10	Industrial TechnologyAbout 53 graduates a year	$45,287	$63,884	$15,883	2nd of 3
11	ChemistryAbout 20 graduates a year	$44,944	Not reported	$11,000	9th of 23
12	Computer ScienceAbout 170 graduates a year	$44,530	$100,735	$15,321	35th of 39
13	Business AdministrationAbout 896 graduates a year	$42,062	$64,019	$13,750	50th of 57
14	Public HealthAbout 162 graduates a year	$40,750	$56,290	$12,500	7th of 16
15	Natural SciencesAbout 42 graduates a year	$39,870	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 2
16	MicrobiologyAbout 13 graduates a year	$39,266	Not reported	$19,334	12th of 13
17	MathematicsAbout 38 graduates a year	$37,845	Not reported	$13,053	14th of 23
18	PsychologyAbout 412 graduates a year	$37,567	Not reported	$24,994	6th of 54
19	Social WorkAbout 279 graduates a year	$37,477	$59,861	$11,000	9th of 16
20	SociologyAbout 394 graduates a year	$34,092	$54,833	$12,500	27th of 42
21	GeographyAbout 10 graduates a year	$33,727	Not reported	Not reported	8th of 13
22	BiologyAbout 123 graduates a year	$33,304	$56,983	$13,000	25th of 47
23	Criminal JusticeAbout 367 graduates a year	$32,974	$56,580	$11,679	19th of 20
24	EconomicsAbout 16 graduates a year	$32,877	Not reported	$11,000	35th of 35
25	Rehabilitation and TherapyAbout 51 graduates a year	$32,805	$50,690	$12,812	1st of 1
26	Teacher EducationAbout 402 graduates a year	$31,366	$46,726	$12,331	9th of 18
27	Nutrition ScienceAbout 44 graduates a year	$31,096	Not reported	$14,493	5th of 9
28	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 139 graduates a year	$30,824	$47,969	$15,171	17th of 34
29	Political ScienceAbout 108 graduates a year	$29,818	$55,331	$10,614	36th of 44
30	Clinical and Counseling PsychologyGraduates a year not reported	$29,457	$48,688	$12,500	3rd of 5
31	AnthropologyAbout 32 graduates a year	$29,364	$42,878	$14,000	6th of 22
32	Writing and RhetoricGraduates a year not reported	$28,725	$54,514	$13,500	5th of 10
33	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 132 graduates a year	$28,702	$45,345	$12,500	5th of 13
34	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 274 graduates a year	$28,687	$57,102	$13,750	13th of 31
35	Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender StudiesAbout 27 graduates a year	$27,058	Not reported	$22,500	17th of 21
36	HistoryAbout 57 graduates a year	$26,862	$45,986	$14,721	19th of 30
37	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 158 graduates a year	$24,538	$38,595	$19,087	9th of 29
38	EnglishAbout 89 graduates a year	$23,858	$49,932	$14,750	24th of 35
39	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 171 graduates a year	$22,133	$42,918	$15,068	12th of 12
40	MusicAbout 34 graduates a year	$21,509	Not reported	$12,500	13th of 24
41	Romance LanguagesAbout 26 graduates a year	$20,433	$37,933	Not reported	21st of 23
42	TheatreAbout 35 graduates a year	$16,645	Not reported	$11,000	23rd of 23

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.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$98,811
Civil Engineering$73,178
Electrical Engineering$63,981
Mechanical Engineering$55,405
Food Science$52,806

Lowest median debt

Political Science$10,614
Chemistry$11,000
Social Work$11,000
Economics$11,000
Theatre$11,000

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 896 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 412 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 402 graduates a year
SociologyAbout 394 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 367 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $98,811 in their first year, the most of 42 Cal State LA 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