Which Cal State Monterey Bay major has the lowest debt?

Nursing graduates leave with a median of $9,489 in federal loans, the lowest among 17 Cal State Monterey Bay bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Cal State Monterey Bay cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $7,779 a year, and $20,379 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $13,663 a year.

How many Cal State Monterey Bay programs report graduate pay?

17 bachelor's programs at Cal State Monterey Bay report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

Cal State Monterey Bay Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

California State University-Monterey Bay
Public university
Seaside, CA
6,819 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

17 Cal State Monterey Bay bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($117,088), and Radio, TV, and Digital Media the least ($24,496). The median program pays $34,089.

In-state tuition and fees$7,779Per year. Out-of-state $20,379

Average net price after aid$13,663Per year

Graduation rate59%Within 6 years

Admission rate97%Of applicants

All 17 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 59 graduates a year	$117,088	$132,226	$9,489	7th of 35
2	Computer ScienceAbout 207 graduates a year	$71,458	$86,576	$16,500	19th of 39
3	Business AdministrationAbout 241 graduates a year	$47,825	$72,547	$13,500	34th of 57
4	Human ServicesAbout 90 graduates a year	$37,501	$57,518	$14,480	1st of 1
5	Hospitality ManagementAbout 11 graduates a year	$35,760	Not reported	$11,000	2nd of 7
6	BiologyAbout 133 graduates a year	$35,312	$45,572	$19,000	16th of 47
7	Social SciencesAbout 109 graduates a year	$34,678	$52,537	$11,000	6th of 10
8	International StudiesAbout 11 graduates a year	$34,246	Not reported	$14,093	5th of 9
9	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 69 graduates a year	$34,089	Not reported	$12,408	3rd of 14
10	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 68 graduates a year	$30,712	$53,883	$16,806	19th of 24
11	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 250 graduates a year	$30,413	$54,702	$13,750	18th of 34
12	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 47 graduates a year	$30,378	$56,342	$14,827	17th of 27
13	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 132 graduates a year	$29,929	$59,223	$13,750	10th of 31
14	PsychologyAbout 293 graduates a year	$29,168	$54,215	$12,366	33rd of 54
15	MusicAbout 12 graduates a year	$28,009	Not reported	$18,920	3rd of 24
16	Marine ScienceAbout 84 graduates a year	$27,268	$45,771	$17,800	2nd of 2
17	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 51 graduates a year	$24,496	$46,621	$15,074	9th of 12

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$117,088
Computer Science$71,458
Business Administration$47,825
Human Services$37,501
Hospitality Management$35,760

Lowest median debt

Nursing$9,489
Hospitality Management$11,000
Social Sciences$11,000
Psychology$12,366
Human Development and Family Studies$12,408

Largest programs

PsychologyAbout 293 graduates a year
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 250 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 241 graduates a year
Computer ScienceAbout 207 graduates a year
BiologyAbout 133 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $117,088 in their first year, the most of 17 Cal State Monterey Bay 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