Which North Dakota State bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Agricultural Business graduates leave with a median of $19,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 38 North Dakota State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does North Dakota State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $11,110 a year, and $15,764 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $15,543 a year.

How many North Dakota State programs report graduate pay?

41 bachelor's programs and one certificate program at North Dakota State report first-year pay, and 39 of them also report federal debt.

North Dakota State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

North Dakota State University-Main Campus
Public university
Fargo, ND
9,471 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

41 North Dakota State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Computer Engineering pays the most in the first year ($76,558), and Political Science the least ($26,635). The median program pays $47,815. North Dakota State also has one certificate program that reports pay.

In-state tuition and fees$11,110Per year. Out-of-state $15,764

Average net price after aid$15,543Per year

Graduation rate64%Within 6 years

Admission rate95%Of applicants

All 41 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in North Dakota" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across North Dakota. 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 North Dakota
1	Computer EngineeringAbout 28 graduates a year	$76,558	Not reported	$21,511	1st of 1
2	Electrical EngineeringAbout 63 graduates a year	$75,212	$92,081	$22,000	2nd of 2
3	Construction Engineering TechnologyAbout 43 graduates a year	$74,199	Not reported	$27,000	1st of 1
4	Civil EngineeringAbout 60 graduates a year	$72,729	$81,230	$25,500	2nd of 2
5	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 122 graduates a year	$72,158	$86,495	$27,000	2nd of 2
6	NursingAbout 216 graduates a year	$70,821	$71,767	$30,500	6th of 7
7	Industrial EngineeringAbout 15 graduates a year	$68,873	$85,379	$26,000	1st of 1
8	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 49 graduates a year	$67,303	$68,652	$28,039	1st of 2
9	Management Information SystemsAbout 12 graduates a year	$64,181	$92,403	$25,500	1st of 1
10	Agricultural ProductionAbout 36 graduates a year	$62,869	$72,312	$23,250	1st of 1
11	Computer ScienceAbout 80 graduates a year	$60,426	$88,466	$25,959	1st of 1
12	Agricultural BusinessAbout 50 graduates a year	$59,953	$70,611	$19,500	1st of 1
13	Medical Laboratory ScienceAbout 8 graduates a year	$58,799	$68,601	$31,000	2nd of 2
14	AccountingAbout 46 graduates a year	$57,695	$67,821	$23,600	2nd of 3
15	AgricultureAbout 8 graduates a year	$55,828	Not reported	$25,000	1st of 2
16	FinanceAbout 82 graduates a year	$53,163	$69,912	$25,542	1st of 2
17	Agricultural MechanizationAbout 7 graduates a year	$52,387	$73,309	Not reported	1st of 1
18	DieteticsGraduates a year not reported	$49,443	$56,261	$27,500	1st of 1
19	Plant ScienceAbout 7 graduates a year	$49,048	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
20	Business AdministrationAbout 144 graduates a year	$48,105	$61,984	$23,250	5th of 9
21	MarketingAbout 61 graduates a year	$47,815	$67,720	$25,000	3rd of 3
22	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 54 graduates a year	$46,970	$50,243	$25,485	3rd of 6
23	Other Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 76 graduates a year	$44,064	$52,303	$21,500	1st of 1
24	Homeland SecurityAbout 16 graduates a year	$42,802	Not reported	$27,000	1st of 1
25	Hospitality ManagementAbout 10 graduates a year	$41,984	$50,675	Not reported	1st of 1
26	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 17 graduates a year	$41,846	$50,837	$27,000	1st of 1
27	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 103 graduates a year	$41,717	$45,968	$26,569	1st of 1
28	Environmental Management and PolicyAbout 22 graduates a year	$40,971	$60,668	$27,000	1st of 1
29	Apparel and TextilesAbout 9 graduates a year	$40,558	$54,262	$23,250	1st of 1
30	SociologyAbout 6 graduates a year	$40,451	$48,327	$27,750	1st of 1
31	MicrobiologyAbout 14 graduates a year	$40,262	$68,195	$25,543	1st of 1
32	Animal ScienceAbout 45 graduates a year	$39,290	$55,921	$23,625	1st of 1
33	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 27 graduates a year	$39,223	$58,541	$25,000	1st of 1
34	Criminal JusticeAbout 56 graduates a year	$38,057	$55,813	$23,125	3rd of 3
35	Veterinary TechnologyAbout 27 graduates a year	$36,814	$35,933	$23,250	1st of 1
36	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 55 graduates a year	$36,646	$58,801	$23,250	1st of 1
37	Business CommunicationAbout 16 graduates a year	$36,513	$55,166	$27,000	1st of 1
38	PsychologyAbout 94 graduates a year	$35,891	$50,573	$25,000	1st of 2
39	BiologyAbout 93 graduates a year	$34,165	$49,471	$23,250	1st of 2
40	ZoologyGraduates a year not reported	$33,115	$56,284	$24,250	1st of 2
41	Political ScienceAbout 18 graduates a year	$26,635	$66,331	$24,475	1st of 1

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

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

One certificate program

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

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in North Dakota
Sales and MerchandisingAbout 8 graduates a year	$55,734	Not reported	$25,222	1st of 1

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Computer Engineering$76,558
Electrical Engineering$75,212
Construction Engineering Technology$74,199
Civil Engineering$72,729
Mechanical Engineering$72,158

Lowest median debt

Agricultural Business$19,500
Other Interdisciplinary Studies$21,500
Computer Engineering$21,511
Electrical Engineering$22,000
Criminal Justice$23,125

Largest programs

NursingAbout 216 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 144 graduates a year
Mechanical EngineeringAbout 122 graduates a year
Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 103 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 94 graduates a year

Common questions

Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $76,558 in their first year, the most of 41 North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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