Marian University (Wisconsin) Nursing (BSN): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
  • Private nonprofit university
  • Fond Du Lac, WI
  • About 33 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Marian University (Wisconsin) nursing graduates earn about what nursing graduates earn nationally, $71,223 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $27,000. Several Wisconsin programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$71,22332nd percentile of 895 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$72,1071% more than year one
Median federal debt$27,0007th lowest of 18 Wisconsin programs
Debt-to-earnings38%Wisconsin median 38%, national 36%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Wisconsin and national columns are the medians across all nursing bachelor's programs that report the figure.

Five years out, Marian University (Wisconsin) graduates earn less than the national figure and about $6,856 less than the Wisconsin median. Several Wisconsin programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.

Debt and first-year pay at every Wisconsin nursing program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Wisconsin medians.

Marian University (Wisconsin)Other Wisconsin programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

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.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 1% between the first and fifth year. Registered nurses in Wisconsin earn a median of $95,530 across all experience levels, which shows how much room there is to grow after the first few years.

Marian University (Wisconsin) grads, year 1$71,223
Marian University (Wisconsin) grads, year 5$72,107
All Wisconsin nursing grads, year 5$78,963
All registered nurses in Wisconsin$95,530
Registered nurses in Fond du Lac metro$93,890

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate. BLS figures cover registered nurses at every experience level.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $6,142 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$68,147Median debt $27,000
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$74,289Median debt $27,500

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 4.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

96% of graduates (82 of 85) were working in Wisconsin one year after graduating. Prices in the Fond du Lac area are about 8% below the national average, so a $71,223 salary here buys what about $77,718 buys in a typical US city.

The median Wisconsin RN earns $95,530, compared with a national median of $97,550. After adjusting for Wisconsin prices, that pay is worth about $101,525, which puts Wisconsin slightly ahead.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to nursing, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Registered Nurses

$95,530

Median pay in Wisconsin. 68,060 people work in this job in Wisconsin. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 180,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $77,470Top 10%: $119,860

Medical and Health Services Managers

$128,320

Median pay in Wisconsin. 7,230 people work in this job in Wisconsin. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 24% from 2025 to 2035, with about 62,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $90,440Top 10%: $274,310

Nurse Practitioners

$131,980

Median pay in Wisconsin. 5,160 people work in this job in Wisconsin. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 41% from 2025 to 2035, with about 29,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $106,320Top 10%: $166,260

Nurse Anesthetists

$273,170

Median pay in Wisconsin. 990 people work in this job in Wisconsin. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $223,690Top 10%: $320,630

About Marian University (Wisconsin)

Nursing ranks 1st of 3 bachelor's programs at Marian University (Wisconsin) by first-year earnings. The others are Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($62,018) and Psychology ($45,416).

Other nursing bachelor's programs near Fond Du Lac

Common questions

The median graduate earns $71,223 one year after graduating and $72,107 five years after. Registered nurses in the Fond du Lac metro area earn a median of $93,890 across all experience levels.

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
  • Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
  • Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
  • 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 Wisconsin comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
  • Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
  • School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the nursing program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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