How much does Northwestern State University of Louisiana cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $8,864 a year, and $19,652 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $13,606 a year.

How many Northwestern State University of Louisiana programs report graduate pay?

23 bachelor's programs and 2 associate's programs at Northwestern State University of Louisiana report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

Northwestern State University of Louisiana Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: Which Northwestern State University of Louisiana bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Hospitality Management graduates leave with a median of $20,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 23 Northwestern State University of Louisiana bachelor's programs that report debt.

Public university
Natchitoches, LA
5,519 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

23 Northwestern State University of Louisiana bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($74,935), and Theatre the least ($16,973). The median program pays $35,452. Northwestern State University of Louisiana also has 2 associate's programs that report pay.

In-state tuition and fees$8,864Per year. Out-of-state $19,652

Average net price after aid$13,606Per year

Graduation rate43%Within 6 years

Admission rate93%Of applicants

All 23 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Louisiana" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Louisiana. 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 Louisiana
1	NursingAbout 293 graduates a year	$74,935	$82,918	$25,638	11th of 13
2	Health SciencesAbout 12 graduates a year	$59,186	Not reported	$42,605	1st of 3
3	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 64 graduates a year	$58,627	$56,512	$26,797	2nd of 5
4	Other Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 6 graduates a year	$53,442	Not reported	$31,000	1st of 7
5	AccountingAbout 38 graduates a year	$48,895	$43,280	$29,371	2nd of 11
6	Teacher EducationAbout 25 graduates a year	$46,908	$45,968	$23,662	3rd of 11
7	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 10 graduates a year	$46,458	$50,756	$27,962	2nd of 5
8	Industrial TechnologyAbout 9 graduates a year	$45,639	$75,283	$25,625	3rd of 3
9	Electrical Engineering TechnologyAbout 20 graduates a year	$39,282	Not reported	$27,000	2nd of 2
10	Family and Consumer SciencesGraduates a year not reported	$38,010	$36,268	$43,158	1st of 4
11	Business AdministrationAbout 91 graduates a year	$37,020	$49,944	$28,750	12th of 16
12	Hospitality ManagementAbout 23 graduates a year	$35,452	$41,200	$20,500	1st of 3
13	Social WorkAbout 53 graduates a year	$33,596	$44,157	$28,875	1st of 5
14	PsychologyAbout 113 graduates a year	$32,765	$46,485	$26,959	2nd of 15
15	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 144 graduates a year	$32,688	$47,139	$31,000	5th of 9
16	Criminal JusticeAbout 46 graduates a year	$30,559	$47,007	$31,000	8th of 10
17	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 28 graduates a year	$28,009	$49,518	$24,000	4th of 7
18	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 50 graduates a year	$27,373	Not reported	$31,000	4th of 6
19	CommunicationsAbout 28 graduates a year	$25,137	$34,523	$21,750	8th of 11
20	BiologyAbout 100 graduates a year	$25,078	$47,666	$26,821	8th of 14
21	Mental Health and Addiction ServicesAbout 6 graduates a year	$24,340	$45,947	$27,000	1st of 1
22	MusicAbout 17 graduates a year	$23,529	Not reported	$22,885	3rd of 4
23	TheatreAbout 25 graduates a year	$16,973	$33,722	$22,250	3rd of 3

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

Both associate's programs

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

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Louisiana
NursingAbout 98 graduates a year	$68,346	$74,729	$31,250	11th of 13
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 245 graduates a year	$34,148	$45,068	$23,735	2nd of 10

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

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$74,935
Health Sciences$59,186
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$58,627
Other Interdisciplinary Studies$53,442
Accounting$48,895

Lowest median debt

Hospitality Management$20,500
Communications$21,750
Theatre$22,250
Music$22,885
Teacher Education$23,662

Largest programs

NursingAbout 293 graduates a year
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 144 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 113 graduates a year
BiologyAbout 100 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 91 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $74,935 in their first year, the most of 23 Northwestern State University of Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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