Which GCU major has the lowest debt?

Diagnostic and Treatment Professions graduates leave with a median of $24,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 38 GCU bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does GCU cost?

Tuition and fees are $17,850 a year for all students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $22,472 a year.

How many GCU programs report graduate pay?

38 bachelor's programs at GCU report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

GCU Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Grand Canyon University
Private nonprofit university
Phoenix, AZ
73,371 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

38 GCU bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($92,781), and Theatre the least ($21,760). The median program pays $38,997.

Tuition and fees$17,850Per year, for all students

Average net price after aid$22,472Per year

Graduation rate43%Within 6 years

Admission rate79%Of applicants

All 38 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Arizona" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Arizona. 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 Arizona
1	NursingAbout 3,721 graduates a year	$92,781	$100,075	$25,500	3rd of 8
2	Electrical EngineeringAbout 23 graduates a year	$74,628	Not reported	$30,524	3rd of 4
3	Homeland SecurityAbout 217 graduates a year	$68,503	$79,207	$28,787	1st of 2
4	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 73 graduates a year	$68,391	Not reported	$27,000	3rd of 4
5	Medical Laboratory ScienceAbout 293 graduates a year	$66,736	$73,611	$38,682	1st of 1
6	Management ScienceAbout 68 graduates a year	$65,070	Not reported	$26,325	2nd of 2
7	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 279 graduates a year	$59,500	Not reported	$29,750	2nd of 5
8	AccountingAbout 284 graduates a year	$53,977	$67,380	$29,513	3rd of 7
9	FinanceAbout 219 graduates a year	$53,853	$80,158	$27,000	6th of 6
10	Business AdministrationAbout 1,595 graduates a year	$53,770	$63,757	$29,916	5th of 10
11	Computer ProgrammingAbout 59 graduates a year	$52,190	Not reported	$26,702	2nd of 3
12	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 337 graduates a year	$46,773	$57,092	$38,570	2nd of 6
13	MarketingAbout 336 graduates a year	$45,001	$53,426	$24,919	5th of 6
14	HistoryAbout 126 graduates a year	$43,596	$48,017	$32,237	2nd of 5
15	Special EducationAbout 600 graduates a year	$43,258	$46,426	$47,180	3rd of 4
16	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 9 graduates a year	$42,566	$49,950	$25,250	3rd of 3
17	Criminal JusticeAbout 287 graduates a year	$41,180	$53,284	$27,048	4th of 6
18	Teacher EducationAbout 1,069 graduates a year	$40,682	$44,724	$36,334	5th of 7
19	Social WorkAbout 363 graduates a year	$39,017	$44,317	$35,959	2nd of 3
20	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 89 graduates a year	$38,976	Not reported	$27,000	1st of 4
21	CommunicationsAbout 193 graduates a year	$38,507	$43,969	$27,000	6th of 6
22	EntrepreneurshipAbout 142 graduates a year	$38,454	$54,269	$27,000	4th of 4
23	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 15 graduates a year	$38,079	$53,825	$24,500	2nd of 3
24	Political ScienceAbout 138 graduates a year	$37,704	Not reported	$27,000	3rd of 5
25	Mental Health and Addiction ServicesAbout 553 graduates a year	$37,693	$47,716	$39,560	3rd of 3
26	Security Science and TechnologyAbout 38 graduates a year	$37,481	$62,726	$27,000	1st of 1
27	Public Relations and AdvertisingGraduates a year not reported	$37,307	Not reported	$25,100	1st of 3
28	Religious EducationAbout 268 graduates a year	$37,273	$42,169	$35,436	1st of 1
29	Community Organization and AdvocacyAbout 377 graduates a year	$36,445	$41,681	$49,016	3rd of 3
30	Human ServicesAbout 1,014 graduates a year	$35,433	$45,006	$30,509	2nd of 2
31	Arts ManagementAbout 24 graduates a year	$34,904	Not reported	$27,000	1st of 1
32	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 259 graduates a year	$34,723	$49,452	$27,000	2nd of 4
33	Hospitality ManagementAbout 60 graduates a year	$34,370	Not reported	$25,000	2nd of 3
34	Writing and RhetoricAbout 72 graduates a year	$31,006	Not reported	$26,186	2nd of 3
35	BiologyAbout 239 graduates a year	$30,775	$59,483	$26,921	4th of 4
36	Film and PhotographyAbout 67 graduates a year	$29,094	$47,224	$28,625	2nd of 4
37	Visual and Performing ArtsAbout 53 graduates a year	$24,691	$43,593	$26,991	2nd of 3
38	TheatreAbout 11 graduates a year	$21,760	$30,913	$26,000	4th of 4

Program names link to the program's own page, and Arizona 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 Arizona 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$92,781
Electrical Engineering$74,628
Homeland Security$68,503
Mechanical Engineering$68,391
Medical Laboratory Science$66,736

Lowest median debt

Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$24,500
Marketing$24,919
Hospitality Management$25,000
Public Relations and Advertising$25,100
Subject-Area Teacher Education$25,250

Largest programs

NursingAbout 3,721 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 1,595 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 1,069 graduates a year
Human ServicesAbout 1,014 graduates a year
Special EducationAbout 600 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $92,781 in their first year, the most of 38 GCU 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 Arizona 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