Which CSUN major has the lowest debt?

Microbiology graduates leave with a median of $7,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 49 CSUN bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does CSUN cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $7,458 a year, and $20,058 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $7,021 a year.

How many CSUN programs report graduate pay?

57 bachelor's programs at CSUN report first-year pay, and 49 of them also report federal debt.

CSUN Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

California State University-Northridge
Public university
Northridge, CA
32,691 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

57 CSUN bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($106,780), and Theatre the least ($17,524). The median program pays $35,628.

In-state tuition and fees$7,458Per year. Out-of-state $20,058

Average net price after aid$7,021Per year

Graduation rate57%Within 6 years

Admission rate93%Of applicants

All 57 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 132 graduates a year	$106,780	$119,562	$20,000	11th of 35
2	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 21 graduates a year	$100,724	$106,155	$20,250	1st of 9
3	Construction Engineering TechnologyAbout 23 graduates a year	$79,352	$102,821	Not reported	5th of 6
4	Public AdministrationAbout 24 graduates a year	$76,049	Not reported	$37,500	2nd of 7
5	Computer EngineeringAbout 39 graduates a year	$75,692	Not reported	$19,548	10th of 19
6	Electrical EngineeringAbout 67 graduates a year	$75,207	$103,360	$17,440	13th of 21
7	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 177 graduates a year	$71,359	$100,421	$18,000	15th of 26
8	AccountingAbout 257 graduates a year	$68,904	$90,327	$15,810	9th of 23
9	Computer ScienceAbout 258 graduates a year	$62,821	$113,922	$18,483	24th of 39
10	Civil EngineeringAbout 69 graduates a year	$62,768	$88,971	$18,732	20th of 20
11	Management Information SystemsGraduates a year not reported	$58,733	$84,481	$21,851	4th of 6
12	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 111 graduates a year	$55,931	$82,112	$19,007	7th of 18
13	Operations ResearchGraduates a year not reported	$53,677	$77,841	$15,000	2nd of 2
14	FinanceAbout 82 graduates a year	$48,553	$71,332	$14,000	10th of 12
15	Cell Biology and AnatomyGraduates a year not reported	$47,315	$78,365	$21,040	2nd of 10
16	Urban StudiesAbout 25 graduates a year	$46,826	$70,696	$13,612	3rd of 5
17	MicrobiologyGraduates a year not reported	$46,489	$72,199	$7,500	6th of 13
18	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 19 graduates a year	$45,453	Not reported	Not reported	7th of 19
19	ChemistryAbout 23 graduates a year	$44,874	Not reported	Not reported	10th of 23
20	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 121 graduates a year	$44,779	$63,357	$13,000	3rd of 6
21	Business AdministrationAbout 1,100 graduates a year	$43,714	$66,806	$15,000	44th of 57
22	BiotechnologyGraduates a year not reported	$42,712	$86,383	$20,618	4th of 4
23	Public HealthAbout 275 graduates a year	$39,011	$61,716	$14,000	9th of 16
24	MathematicsAbout 59 graduates a year	$38,598	$64,465	$16,949	11th of 23
25	HistoryAbout 98 graduates a year	$37,031	$52,390	$15,000	2nd of 30
26	MarketingAbout 179 graduates a year	$37,016	$69,084	$14,000	12th of 13
27	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 3 graduates a year	$36,736	$49,713	Not reported	8th of 27
28	Real EstateGraduates a year not reported	$35,879	$58,731	Not reported	3rd of 3
29	EconomicsAbout 73 graduates a year	$35,628	$72,184	$13,000	34th of 35
30	Criminal JusticeAbout 439 graduates a year	$34,870	Not reported	$11,000	14th of 20
31	Ecology and EvolutionGraduates a year not reported	$34,838	Not reported	$24,250	4th of 10
32	Social WorkGraduates a year not reported	$34,447	$57,312	$12,449	14th of 16
33	SociologyAbout 424 graduates a year	$34,093	$53,371	$13,000	26th of 42
34	Family and Consumer SciencesAbout 125 graduates a year	$33,721	$52,308	$17,000	3rd of 5
35	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 253 graduates a year	$33,324	$56,781	$15,000	13th of 34
36	Political ScienceAbout 188 graduates a year	$32,014	$56,503	$14,202	29th of 44
37	CommunicationsAbout 235 graduates a year	$30,794	$56,058	$13,999	34th of 39
38	JournalismAbout 128 graduates a year	$30,564	$53,354	$15,480	10th of 14
39	BiologyAbout 286 graduates a year	$29,506	$79,403	$15,059	34th of 47
40	PsychologyAbout 980 graduates a year	$28,603	$52,901	$13,000	38th of 54
41	Human Development and Family StudiesGraduates a year not reported	$28,150	$46,221	$11,250	13th of 14
42	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 397 graduates a year	$27,952	$56,754	$15,000	16th of 31
43	EnglishAbout 170 graduates a year	$27,452	$48,364	$18,000	13th of 35
44	Film and PhotographyGraduates a year not reported	$27,290	$38,272	$18,266	9th of 25
45	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 430 graduates a year	$27,278	$46,521	$15,000	5th of 12
46	GeographyAbout 29 graduates a year	$27,002	$75,692	$8,250	11th of 13
47	Area StudiesAbout 9 graduates a year	$26,793	Not reported	Not reported	5th of 8
48	Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender StudiesAbout 188 graduates a year	$26,767	$48,239	$15,000	19th of 21
49	AnthropologyAbout 57 graduates a year	$26,278	$47,132	$17,750	15th of 22
50	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 324 graduates a year	$25,359	$45,572	$15,000	7th of 29
51	Hospitality ManagementAbout 29 graduates a year	$25,340	$51,354	$15,000	7th of 7
52	Religious StudiesAbout 8 graduates a year	$23,219	Not reported	$13,483	2nd of 4
53	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 118 graduates a year	$22,310	$70,031	$15,356	12th of 13
54	Linguistics and Language StudiesAbout 21 graduates a year	$21,501	$51,950	Not reported	9th of 12
55	PhilosophyAbout 22 graduates a year	$20,822	$49,662	Not reported	14th of 15
56	MusicAbout 94 graduates a year	$18,226	$35,153	$15,933	21st of 24
57	TheatreAbout 46 graduates a year	$17,524	$33,395	$17,863	22nd 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.

One more bachelor's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$106,780
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$100,724
Construction Engineering Technology$79,352
Public Administration$76,049
Computer Engineering$75,692

Lowest median debt

Microbiology$7,500
Geography$8,250
Criminal Justice$11,000
Human Development and Family Studies$11,250
Social Work$12,449

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 1,100 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 980 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 439 graduates a year
Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 430 graduates a year
SociologyAbout 424 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $106,780 in their first year, the most of 57 CSUN 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