Which Grand Valley State bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

International Relations graduates leave with a median of $19,000 in federal loans, the lowest among 62 Grand Valley State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Grand Valley State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $15,140 a year, and $21,548 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $16,317 a year.

How many Grand Valley State programs report graduate pay?

62 bachelor's programs and 2 certificate programs at Grand Valley State report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

Grand Valley State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Grand Valley State University
Public university
Allendale, MI
18,854 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

62 Grand Valley State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Computer Engineering pays the most in the first year ($80,746), and Fine and Studio Arts the least ($24,135). The median program pays $40,869. Grand Valley State also has 2 certificate programs that report pay.

In-state tuition and fees$15,140Per year. Out-of-state $21,548

Average net price after aid$16,317Per year

Graduation rate67%Within 6 years

Admission rate83%Of applicants

All 62 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Michigan" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Michigan. 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 Michigan
1	Computer EngineeringAbout 23 graduates a year	$80,746	Not reported	$26,676	4th of 7
2	Electrical EngineeringAbout 19 graduates a year	$80,732	Not reported	$29,172	4th of 12
3	Manufacturing EngineeringAbout 18 graduates a year	$76,754	Not reported	$26,000	1st of 2
4	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 57 graduates a year	$75,777	$85,738	$28,000	9th of 16
5	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 114 graduates a year	$74,360	$95,198	$27,000	5th of 14
6	NursingAbout 239 graduates a year	$71,181	$72,866	$27,000	19th of 23
7	Information ScienceAbout 23 graduates a year	$66,967	$94,036	$29,000	2nd of 3
8	Medical Laboratory ScienceAbout 18 graduates a year	$63,038	Not reported	$31,741	5th of 9
9	Quality Control and Safety TechnologyAbout 22 graduates a year	$58,781	$84,815	$29,000	1st of 1
10	International BusinessAbout 16 graduates a year	$58,746	$83,990	$24,397	2nd of 3
11	Business AdministrationAbout 113 graduates a year	$57,760	$83,452	$27,000	4th of 29
12	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 43 graduates a year	$57,161	$66,629	$27,000	6th of 7
13	EconomicsAbout 15 graduates a year	$53,985	$63,288	$27,000	3rd of 10
14	Business EconomicsAbout 54 graduates a year	$53,536	$74,748	$25,000	1st of 1
15	FinanceAbout 239 graduates a year	$52,872	$74,838	$24,199	11th of 16
16	AccountingAbout 123 graduates a year	$51,186	$73,018	$23,750	14th of 24
17	Human ResourcesAbout 49 graduates a year	$50,259	Not reported	$25,452	8th of 12
18	Special EducationAbout 55 graduates a year	$49,494	Not reported	$30,350	1st of 8
19	Management ScienceAbout 120 graduates a year	$46,886	$66,492	$26,000	6th of 6
20	ChemistryAbout 11 graduates a year	$46,496	$57,685	$25,000	1st of 6
21	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 112 graduates a year	$46,124	$51,809	$30,750	1st of 16
22	MarketingAbout 269 graduates a year	$46,022	$69,915	$25,000	7th of 18
23	MathematicsAbout 63 graduates a year	$45,349	$54,584	$27,000	3rd of 3
24	BusinessAbout 78 graduates a year	$45,285	$61,045	$21,025	7th of 8
25	Biological and Physical SciencesAbout 18 graduates a year	$44,525	$46,679	$27,000	1st of 1
26	EducationAbout 224 graduates a year	$44,071	$48,711	$29,364	2nd of 2
27	StatisticsAbout 39 graduates a year	$43,668	$78,011	$27,000	3rd of 3
28	Rehabilitation and TherapyAbout 33 graduates a year	$43,631	$40,878	$27,000	2nd of 4
29	EntrepreneurshipAbout 15 graduates a year	$43,391	Not reported	$26,000	1st of 2
30	Social SciencesAbout 45 graduates a year	$43,217	$50,160	$27,400	2nd of 2
31	BiologyAbout 282 graduates a year	$40,959	$52,780	$26,748	2nd of 22
32	Paralegal StudiesAbout 41 graduates a year	$40,778	$53,904	$21,500	1st of 2
33	Other Communication and JournalismGraduates a year not reported	$40,415	$52,201	$25,479	1st of 1
34	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 26 graduates a year	$40,032	Not reported	$28,457	7th of 9
35	Criminal JusticeAbout 121 graduates a year	$39,857	$60,671	$26,000	8th of 16
36	EnglishAbout 82 graduates a year	$39,334	$47,325	$28,570	1st of 11
37	Geology and Earth ScienceAbout 14 graduates a year	$38,675	Not reported	$28,750	3rd of 5
38	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 140 graduates a year	$38,172	$55,205	$26,377	9th of 11
39	Social WorkAbout 121 graduates a year	$37,233	$50,014	$27,000	9th of 14
40	Public AdministrationAbout 26 graduates a year	$36,236	$50,338	$25,697	3rd of 3
41	GeographyAbout 14 graduates a year	$35,838	$52,050	$20,500	2nd of 2
42	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 80 graduates a year	$35,767	$53,130	$31,000	9th of 12
43	Hospitality ManagementAbout 63 graduates a year	$35,406	$49,255	$26,000	3rd of 6
44	Pre-Health StudiesAbout 2 graduates a year	$35,374	$65,087	$26,300	1st of 2
45	Political ScienceAbout 50 graduates a year	$35,358	$56,023	$24,250	6th of 14
46	MusicAbout 38 graduates a year	$34,882	$45,043	$29,198	2nd of 7
47	Other Health ProfessionsAbout 183 graduates a year	$34,203	$60,572	$26,262	2nd of 3
48	CommunicationsAbout 73 graduates a year	$32,755	$46,747	$26,000	11th of 18
49	NeuroscienceAbout 68 graduates a year	$32,644	Not reported	$24,946	1st of 4
50	SociologyAbout 22 graduates a year	$32,132	$47,684	$26,000	5th of 10
51	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 91 graduates a year	$32,118	$46,296	$24,158	4th of 9
52	Romance LanguagesAbout 29 graduates a year	$31,569	$49,685	$28,740	6th of 8
53	Writing and RhetoricAbout 37 graduates a year	$31,016	$38,930	$25,000	4th of 11
54	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 30 graduates a year	$30,141	Not reported	$26,625	3rd of 4
55	PsychologyAbout 276 graduates a year	$30,100	$50,042	$25,187	11th of 21
56	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 235 graduates a year	$29,913	Not reported	$26,300	8th of 18
57	International RelationsAbout 21 graduates a year	$28,202	$39,625	$19,000	3rd of 3
58	AnthropologyAbout 19 graduates a year	$27,350	$40,889	$27,000	2nd of 6
59	HistoryAbout 27 graduates a year	$27,341	$40,634	$26,500	9th of 10
60	Film and PhotographyAbout 68 graduates a year	$25,256	$41,264	$25,899	4th of 7
61	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 30 graduates a year	$24,894	$46,682	$27,000	2nd of 3
62	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 59 graduates a year	$24,135	$38,662	$27,000	5th of 11

Program names link to the program's own page, and Michigan 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 Michigan 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.

Both certificate programs

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Michigan" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Michigan.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Michigan
GeographyAbout 41 graduates a year	$36,895	Not reported	$23,250	1st of 1
HistoryAbout 41 graduates a year	$24,206	Not reported	$24,637	1st of 1

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Computer Engineering$80,746
Electrical Engineering$80,732
Manufacturing Engineering$76,754
Mechanical Engineering$75,777
Computer and Information Science$74,360

Lowest median debt

International Relations$19,000
Geography$20,500
Business$21,025
Paralegal Studies$21,500
Accounting$23,750

Largest programs

BiologyAbout 282 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 276 graduates a year
MarketingAbout 269 graduates a year
NursingAbout 239 graduates a year
FinanceAbout 239 graduates a year

Common questions

Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $80,746 in their first year, the most of 62 Grand Valley 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 Michigan 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