Which Missouri Western State bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Criminal Justice graduates leave with a median of $20,149 in federal loans, the lowest among 14 Missouri Western State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Missouri Western State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $10,306 a year, and $20,866 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $13,251 a year.

How many Missouri Western State programs report graduate pay?

18 bachelor's programs and one associate's program at Missouri Western State report first-year pay, and 15 of them also report federal debt.

Missouri Western State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Missouri Western State University
Public university
Saint Joseph, MO
2,219 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

18 Missouri Western State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($70,938), and Theatre the least ($26,929). The median program pays $38,504. Missouri Western State also has one associate's program that reports pay.

In-state tuition and fees$10,306Per year. Out-of-state $20,866

Average net price after aid$13,251Per year

Graduation rate39%Within 6 years

All 18 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Missouri" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Missouri. 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 Missouri
1	NursingAbout 91 graduates a year	$70,938	$72,447	$25,000	6th of 26
2	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 1 graduates a year	$55,955	$65,401	$25,000	11th of 12
3	FinanceAbout 13 graduates a year	$47,265	Not reported	$21,361	6th of 9
4	AccountingAbout 14 graduates a year	$47,202	$60,816	$26,000	12th of 17
5	Construction Engineering TechnologyAbout 13 graduates a year	$47,141	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
6	MarketingAbout 36 graduates a year	$43,070	Not reported	$25,950	5th of 10
7	Business AdministrationAbout 54 graduates a year	$41,902	$50,170	$25,497	15th of 25
8	BiologyAbout 29 graduates a year	$40,936	$48,681	$24,935	1st of 21
9	Criminal JusticeAbout 38 graduates a year	$39,808	$46,095	$20,149	5th of 16
10	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 12 graduates a year	$37,200	Not reported	Not reported	3rd of 8
11	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 31 graduates a year	$36,557	$46,279	$24,815	2nd of 13
12	Other Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 44 graduates a year	$34,729	$49,458	$26,863	2nd of 4
13	Teacher EducationAbout 38 graduates a year	$33,695	$39,329	$21,352	13th of 20
14	Social WorkAbout 24 graduates a year	$33,532	$44,133	$27,679	5th of 9
15	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 12 graduates a year	$33,183	Not reported	$24,704	10th of 11
16	Wildlife ScienceAbout 23 graduates a year	$32,199	Not reported	Not reported	2nd of 3
17	PsychologyAbout 27 graduates a year	$30,079	$35,074	$26,862	18th of 23
18	TheatreGraduates a year not reported	$26,929	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 6

Program names link to the program's own page, and Missouri 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 Missouri 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 associate's program

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

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Missouri
Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 15 graduates a year	$36,350	Not reported	$19,263	6th of 11

Program names link to the program's own page, and Missouri ranks link to the full ranking for the field.

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$70,938
Computer and Information Science$55,955
Finance$47,265
Accounting$47,202
Construction Engineering Technology$47,141

Lowest median debt

Largest programs

NursingAbout 91 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 54 graduates a year
Other Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 44 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 38 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 38 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $70,938 in their first year, the most of 18 Missouri Western 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 Missouri 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