Which Northern Illinois University major has the lowest debt?

Accounting graduates leave with a median of $18,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 41 Northern Illinois University bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Northern Illinois University cost?

Tuition and fees are $13,248 a year for all students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $13,391 a year.

How many Northern Illinois University programs report graduate pay?

41 bachelor's programs at Northern Illinois University report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

Northern Illinois University Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public university
Dekalb, IL
11,301 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

41 Northern Illinois University bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Computer Science pays the most in the first year ($77,257), and Theatre the least ($23,517). The median program pays $41,139.

Tuition and fees$13,248Per year, for all students

Average net price after aid$13,391Per year

Graduation rate49%Within 6 years

Admission rate70%Of applicants

All 41 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 110 graduates a year	$77,257	$85,811	$22,966	8th of 23
2	NursingAbout 153 graduates a year	$75,557	$78,637	$31,000	10th of 32
3	Electrical EngineeringAbout 41 graduates a year	$74,442	$86,449	$25,000	4th of 7
4	Industrial EngineeringAbout 11 graduates a year	$72,112	$88,954	$23,750	4th of 6
5	Medical Laboratory ScienceAbout 20 graduates a year	$70,654	$69,250	$23,750	2nd of 3
6	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 101 graduates a year	$68,069	$86,692	$25,000	6th of 8
7	AccountingAbout 83 graduates a year	$63,743	$83,523	$18,500	7th of 28
8	Engineering TechnologyAbout 56 graduates a year	$62,117	$85,470	$27,274	2nd of 3
9	FinanceAbout 56 graduates a year	$54,802	$79,501	$19,500	10th of 21
10	Biomedical EngineeringAbout 15 graduates a year	$54,047	Not reported	$20,521	4th of 5
11	Business AdministrationAbout 109 graduates a year	$52,724	$76,392	$22,500	7th of 38
12	MarketingAbout 119 graduates a year	$51,137	$68,194	$23,875	4th of 22
13	Management ScienceAbout 80 graduates a year	$51,128	$65,538	$21,600	6th of 13
14	Special EducationAbout 48 graduates a year	$46,578	$57,132	$21,452	5th of 10
15	EconomicsAbout 16 graduates a year	$45,386	$69,275	$25,879	9th of 15
16	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 40 graduates a year	$45,184	$53,340	$26,746	8th of 21
17	MathematicsAbout 31 graduates a year	$44,857	$73,553	$25,044	7th of 7
18	Teacher EducationAbout 146 graduates a year	$44,214	$48,018	$25,250	19th of 38
19	ChemistryAbout 18 graduates a year	$43,061	$62,503	$23,023	3rd of 4
20	MusicAbout 35 graduates a year	$42,830	$31,511	$29,000	1st of 13
21	Mental Health and Addiction ServicesAbout 26 graduates a year	$41,139	$57,919	$29,804	1st of 1
22	Romance LanguagesAbout 30 graduates a year	$40,586	$53,528	$21,250	2nd of 10
23	CommunicationsAbout 95 graduates a year	$38,490	$56,644	$27,000	8th of 26
24	BiologyAbout 66 graduates a year	$38,137	$63,964	$23,630	3rd of 27
25	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 36 graduates a year	$36,409	$48,605	$26,625	1st of 8
26	SociologyAbout 35 graduates a year	$35,150	$49,637	$27,000	7th of 16
27	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 41 graduates a year	$34,136	$53,628	$22,500	1st of 2
28	EnglishAbout 47 graduates a year	$34,122	$44,293	$25,375	6th of 18
29	HistoryAbout 33 graduates a year	$33,288	$53,605	$22,500	7th of 13
30	PsychologyAbout 211 graduates a year	$33,150	$47,360	$24,194	11th of 35
31	Hospitality ManagementAbout 16 graduates a year	$32,337	Not reported	$25,001	4th of 4
32	Political ScienceAbout 63 graduates a year	$32,225	$60,494	$27,000	13th of 20
33	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 84 graduates a year	$32,158	$51,319	$27,418	5th of 19
34	Pre-Health StudiesAbout 139 graduates a year	$31,899	$54,266	$27,000	2nd of 3
35	JournalismAbout 15 graduates a year	$31,753	$47,283	$25,750	7th of 8
36	DieteticsAbout 23 graduates a year	$29,911	$52,265	$27,000	3rd of 3
37	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 97 graduates a year	$29,426	$50,679	$30,839	11th of 11
38	Human ServicesAbout 16 graduates a year	$29,062	$46,762	$27,000	3rd of 3
39	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 63 graduates a year	$28,342	$45,830	$31,000	5th of 5
40	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 69 graduates a year	$26,795	$41,109	$25,781	7th of 15
41	TheatreAbout 33 graduates a year	$23,517	$38,201	$27,000	4th of 14

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.

One more bachelor's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Computer Science$77,257
Nursing$75,557
Electrical Engineering$74,442
Industrial Engineering$72,112
Medical Laboratory Science$70,654

Lowest median debt

Largest programs

PsychologyAbout 211 graduates a year
NursingAbout 153 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 146 graduates a year
Pre-Health StudiesAbout 139 graduates a year
MarketingAbout 119 graduates a year

Common questions

Computer Science graduates earn a median of $77,257 in their first year, the most of 41 Northern Illinois University 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