Which Merced College associate's program has the lowest debt?

Psychology graduates leave with a median of $6,849 in federal loans, the lowest among 3 Merced College associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Merced College cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $1,200 a year, and $8,520 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $5,040 a year.

How many Merced College programs report graduate pay?

6 associate's programs and 4 certificate programs at Merced College report first-year pay, and 6 of them also report federal debt.

Merced College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Merced, CA
10,001 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

6 Merced College associate's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($107,024), and Criminal Justice the least ($31,050). The median program pays $34,305. Merced College also has 4 certificate programs that report pay.

In-state tuition and fees$1,200Per year. Out-of-state $8,520

Average net price after aid$5,040Per year

Graduation rate36%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

All 6 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in California" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across California. 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 California
1	NursingAbout 54 graduates a year	$107,024	$114,563	$12,750	5th of 53
2	Practical NursingAbout 31 graduates a year	$47,114	Not reported	Not reported	7th of 7
3	PsychologyAbout 328 graduates a year	$34,441	$32,072	$6,849	1st of 10
4	Social SciencesAbout 188 graduates a year	$34,168	$34,085	$7,843	1st of 10
5	Pre-Health StudiesGraduates a year not reported	$31,345	$46,318	Not reported	1st of 3
6	Criminal JusticeAbout 72 graduates a year	$31,050	$41,676	Not reported	9th of 21

Program names link to the program's own page, and California 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 California programs in the field do too.

All 4 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in California" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across California. 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 California
1	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 41 graduates a year	$78,871	Not reported	$11,150	5th of 24
2	Practical NursingAbout 98 graduates a year	$31,349	Not reported	$6,250	41st of 41
3	Welding and MachiningAbout 141 graduates a year	$27,541	Not reported	Not reported	7th of 7
4	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 700 graduates a year	$27,413	$35,817	$9,300	10th of 20

Quick picks: associate's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$107,024
Practical Nursing$47,114
Psychology$34,441
Social Sciences$34,168
Pre-Health Studies$31,345

Lowest median debt

Largest programs

PsychologyAbout 328 graduates a year
Social SciencesAbout 188 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 72 graduates a year
NursingAbout 54 graduates a year
Practical NursingAbout 31 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $107,024 in their first year, the most of 6 Merced College associate'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 California 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