Which Illinois State major has the lowest debt?

Geography graduates leave with a median of $15,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 51 Illinois State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Illinois State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $16,144 a year, and $28,210 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $19,398 a year.

How many Illinois State programs report graduate pay?

52 bachelor's programs at Illinois State report first-year pay, and 51 of them also report federal debt.

Illinois State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Illinois State University
Public university
Normal, IL
19,057 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

52 Illinois State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Computer Science pays the most in the first year ($81,363), and Other Visual and Performing Arts the least ($24,384). The median program pays $44,314.

In-state tuition and fees$16,144Per year. Out-of-state $28,210

Average net price after aid$19,398Per year

Graduation rate65%Within 6 years

Admission rate88%Of applicants

All 52 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	Computer ScienceAbout 61 graduates a year	$81,363	$99,457	$22,500	6th of 23
2	NursingAbout 215 graduates a year	$72,709	$83,441	$23,075	18th of 32
3	Construction ManagementAbout 52 graduates a year	$70,672	$94,268	$21,500	2nd of 2
4	Computer NetworkingAbout 5 graduates a year	$66,801	$84,405	Not reported	1st of 3
5	Medical Laboratory ScienceAbout 33 graduates a year	$65,629	$65,434	$25,470	3rd of 3
6	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 18 graduates a year	$65,127	$84,395	$22,250	3rd of 12
7	AccountingAbout 166 graduates a year	$62,940	$81,805	$22,482	8th of 28
8	Public HealthAbout 26 graduates a year	$59,207	$83,534	$22,250	1st of 6
9	Engineering TechnologyAbout 26 graduates a year	$55,532	Not reported	$19,500	3rd of 3
10	FinanceAbout 176 graduates a year	$54,958	$86,558	$20,500	9th of 21
11	Management Information SystemsAbout 23 graduates a year	$52,887	$95,306	$16,250	4th of 4
12	MathematicsAbout 85 graduates a year	$52,597	$65,120	$20,309	4th of 7
13	International BusinessAbout 39 graduates a year	$52,491	$78,951	$19,059	2nd of 4
14	Industrial TechnologyAbout 10 graduates a year	$51,839	$79,726	$23,000	3rd of 3
15	MarketingAbout 256 graduates a year	$51,687	$76,346	$20,500	3rd of 22
16	InsuranceAbout 32 graduates a year	$51,499	$85,527	$19,500	1st of 1
17	Business AdministrationAbout 169 graduates a year	$50,647	$70,456	$17,500	10th of 38
18	Romance LanguagesAbout 47 graduates a year	$49,448	$47,097	$22,375	1st of 10
19	Family and Consumer SciencesAbout 23 graduates a year	$48,974	$52,374	$20,322	1st of 2
20	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 17 graduates a year	$48,886	$67,193	$21,500	4th of 10
21	Special EducationAbout 151 graduates a year	$48,358	$56,275	$20,436	3rd of 10
22	Management ScienceAbout 96 graduates a year	$47,553	$74,155	$23,250	8th of 13
23	AgricultureAbout 109 graduates a year	$47,295	$64,041	$18,750	2nd of 3
24	Energy Systems TechnologyAbout 8 graduates a year	$46,992	$72,771	$17,750	1st of 1
25	Teacher EducationAbout 473 graduates a year	$44,898	$49,945	$22,500	15th of 38
26	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 163 graduates a year	$44,613	$55,738	$24,149	10th of 21
27	EconomicsAbout 29 graduates a year	$44,015	$71,687	$25,000	10th of 15
28	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 65 graduates a year	$43,874	$62,349	$22,500	3rd of 9
29	HistoryAbout 111 graduates a year	$40,465	$48,171	$23,125	3rd of 13
30	EnglishAbout 109 graduates a year	$39,563	$48,567	$23,125	2nd of 18
31	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 31 graduates a year	$39,287	Not reported	$24,986	1st of 10
32	Recreation ManagementAbout 76 graduates a year	$39,104	$47,002	$22,000	1st of 3
33	Social WorkAbout 49 graduates a year	$39,041	$50,809	$25,000	5th of 13
34	DieteticsAbout 35 graduates a year	$38,444	Not reported	$18,892	1st of 3
35	CommunicationsAbout 166 graduates a year	$38,125	$59,685	$20,125	9th of 26
36	Criminal JusticeAbout 176 graduates a year	$37,584	$59,928	$22,531	17th of 22
37	Apparel and TextilesAbout 26 graduates a year	$37,111	Not reported	$22,500	1st of 2
38	JournalismAbout 34 graduates a year	$36,643	$48,505	$23,500	5th of 8
39	BiologyAbout 120 graduates a year	$36,337	$53,848	$24,672	6th of 27
40	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 97 graduates a year	$35,967	$45,397	$20,125	1st of 15
41	GeographyAbout 23 graduates a year	$34,952	Not reported	$15,500	4th of 4
42	Political ScienceAbout 77 graduates a year	$34,519	$62,313	$22,201	10th of 20
43	Cell Biology and AnatomyAbout 17 graduates a year	$34,154	Not reported	$22,500	1st of 2
44	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 32 graduates a year	$33,682	Not reported	$23,125	3rd of 5
45	SociologyAbout 64 graduates a year	$33,636	$54,799	$25,000	12th of 16
46	MusicAbout 25 graduates a year	$32,853	$44,586	$20,500	5th of 13
47	PsychologyAbout 200 graduates a year	$32,104	$56,232	$22,000	18th of 35
48	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 123 graduates a year	$31,745	$44,962	$23,621	10th of 11
49	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 77 graduates a year	$30,051	$66,257	$21,250	10th of 19
50	TheatreAbout 56 graduates a year	$28,958	$39,893	$24,246	1st of 14
51	AnthropologyAbout 11 graduates a year	$25,913	$51,516	$25,333	4th of 7
52	Other Visual and Performing ArtsGraduates a year not reported	$24,384	$44,262	$22,000	1st of 2

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

3 more bachelor's programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Computer Science$81,363
Nursing$72,709
Construction Management$70,672
Computer Networking$66,801
Medical Laboratory Science$65,629

Lowest median debt

Geography$15,500
Management Information Systems$16,250
Business Administration$17,500
Energy Systems Technology$17,750
Agriculture$18,750

Largest programs

Teacher EducationAbout 473 graduates a year
MarketingAbout 256 graduates a year
NursingAbout 215 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 200 graduates a year
FinanceAbout 176 graduates a year

Common questions

Computer Science graduates earn a median of $81,363 in their first year, the most of 52 Illinois 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