Which Governors State major has the lowest debt?

Computer Science graduates leave with a median of $17,750 in federal loans, the lowest among 15 Governors State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Governors State cost?

Tuition and fees are $12,004 a year for all students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $12,329 a year.

How many Governors State programs report graduate pay?

15 bachelor's programs at Governors State report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

Governors State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Governors State University
Public university
University Park, IL
2,556 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

15 Governors State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($80,391), and Communications the least ($27,071). The median program pays $44,133.

Tuition and fees$12,004Per year, for all students

Average net price after aid$12,329Per year

Graduation rate22%Within 6 years

Admission rate48%Of applicants

All 15 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Illinois" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Illinois. 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 Illinois
1	NursingAbout 9 graduates a year	$80,391	$107,166	$27,342	2nd of 32
2	Computer ScienceAbout 25 graduates a year	$52,115	Not reported	$17,750	19th of 23
3	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 27 graduates a year	$48,567	$62,049	$19,400	8th of 12
4	AccountingAbout 40 graduates a year	$47,836	$64,348	$22,000	26th of 28
5	Teacher EducationAbout 44 graduates a year	$45,235	$43,477	$21,500	13th of 38
6	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 25 graduates a year	$44,498	$63,258	$30,291	7th of 10
7	Business AdministrationAbout 96 graduates a year	$44,436	$57,653	$20,207	26th of 38
8	Social WorkAbout 19 graduates a year	$44,133	$47,709	$33,983	1st of 13
9	BiologyAbout 11 graduates a year	$43,641	$62,132	$31,250	1st of 27
10	Criminal JusticeAbout 50 graduates a year	$42,456	$58,832	$22,889	6th of 22
11	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 89 graduates a year	$42,107	$43,379	$36,500	6th of 11
12	Public HealthAbout 22 graduates a year	$36,537	$47,418	$23,000	5th of 6
13	EnglishAbout 13 graduates a year	$29,580	$47,928	$22,520	15th of 18
14	PsychologyAbout 84 graduates a year	$29,449	$51,616	$25,375	32nd of 35
15	CommunicationsAbout 24 graduates a year	$27,071	$52,179	$20,340	25th of 26

Program names link to the program's own page, and Illinois ranks link to the full ranking for the field.

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

Lowest median debt

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 96 graduates a year
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 89 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 84 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 50 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 44 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $80,391 in their first year, the most of 15 Governors State 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 Illinois 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