Which Oakland University major has the lowest debt?

Sociology graduates leave with a median of $20,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 37 Oakland University bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Oakland University cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $15,262 a year, and $23,188 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $9,120 a year.

How many Oakland University programs report graduate pay?

40 bachelor's programs at Oakland University report first-year pay, and 37 of them also report federal debt.

Oakland University Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public university
Rochester Hills, MI
12,351 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

40 Oakland University bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Electrical Engineering pays the most in the first year ($80,623), and Theatre the least ($15,579). The median program pays $39,373.

In-state tuition and fees$15,262Per year. Out-of-state $23,188

Average net price after aid$9,120Per year

Graduation rate58%Within 6 years

Admission rate88%Of applicants

All 40 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Michigan" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Michigan. 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 Michigan
1	Electrical EngineeringAbout 78 graduates a year	$80,623	$102,740	$26,000	6th of 12
2	Computer EngineeringAbout 38 graduates a year	$78,709	$99,893	$26,125	6th of 7
3	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 132 graduates a year	$78,213	$101,107	$25,000	5th of 16
4	Industrial EngineeringAbout 29 graduates a year	$77,169	Not reported	$29,750	4th of 5
5	NursingAbout 479 graduates a year	$74,917	$78,122	$29,430	11th of 23
6	Management ScienceAbout 4 graduates a year	$69,446	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 6
7	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 149 graduates a year	$66,537	$95,581	$26,500	8th of 14
8	Management Information SystemsAbout 35 graduates a year	$65,128	$85,514	$26,000	3rd of 6
9	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 13 graduates a year	$62,452	Not reported	$28,000	5th of 7
10	Business AdministrationAbout 45 graduates a year	$62,359	$79,949	$26,000	3rd of 29
11	FinanceAbout 96 graduates a year	$61,804	$91,917	$23,944	2nd of 16
12	AccountingAbout 65 graduates a year	$59,833	$81,191	$23,500	7th of 24
13	Public HealthAbout 19 graduates a year	$59,330	$72,819	$30,750	1st of 5
14	Biological EngineeringAbout 14 graduates a year	$57,337	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
15	BusinessAbout 63 graduates a year	$56,118	$69,586	$27,250	1st of 8
16	Medical Laboratory ScienceAbout 26 graduates a year	$55,992	$67,395	$28,021	6th of 9
17	Human ResourcesAbout 139 graduates a year	$51,010	$67,094	$25,480	5th of 12
18	MarketingAbout 116 graduates a year	$50,087	$65,296	$25,715	4th of 18
19	Teacher EducationAbout 182 graduates a year	$42,440	$45,473	$29,019	12th of 17
20	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 17 graduates a year	$40,299	Not reported	$24,975	6th of 11
21	Social WorkAbout 76 graduates a year	$38,446	$50,800	$28,250	7th of 14
22	CommunicationsAbout 87 graduates a year	$37,795	$52,793	$24,125	4th of 18
23	HistoryAbout 43 graduates a year	$36,257	$45,903	$22,875	3rd of 10
24	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 122 graduates a year	$36,157	$61,563	$28,000	8th of 12
25	Criminal JusticeAbout 47 graduates a year	$35,705	$56,446	$25,000	15th of 16
26	JournalismAbout 18 graduates a year	$35,545	$49,213	$26,000	2nd of 5
27	Romance LanguagesAbout 24 graduates a year	$35,411	Not reported	$25,428	4th of 8
28	Writing and RhetoricAbout 28 graduates a year	$34,464	$32,718	$25,500	1st of 11
29	DanceAbout 7 graduates a year	$31,999	Not reported	$27,500	1st of 4
30	EnglishAbout 42 graduates a year	$31,746	$52,242	$25,990	5th of 11
31	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 37 graduates a year	$31,201	$57,419	$25,171	5th of 9
32	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 69 graduates a year	$30,687	$45,569	$27,954	7th of 9
33	Other Health ProfessionsAbout 181 graduates a year	$29,225	$54,946	$25,000	3rd of 3
34	Political ScienceAbout 52 graduates a year	$29,080	$51,252	$23,054	14th of 14
35	PsychologyAbout 206 graduates a year	$28,026	$49,500	$24,510	18th of 21
36	BiologyAbout 141 graduates a year	$27,497	$50,615	$25,435	11th of 22
37	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 21 graduates a year	$22,840	$31,247	Not reported	7th of 11
38	Film and PhotographyAbout 27 graduates a year	$22,011	$27,634	$27,000	6th of 7
39	SociologyAbout 17 graduates a year	$20,126	$51,583	$20,500	10th of 10
40	TheatreAbout 21 graduates a year	$15,579	$31,830	$26,678	6th of 6

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

Electrical Engineering$80,623
Computer Engineering$78,709
Mechanical Engineering$78,213
Industrial Engineering$77,169
Nursing$74,917

Lowest median debt

Sociology$20,500
History$22,875
Political Science$23,054
Accounting$23,500
Finance$23,944

Largest programs

NursingAbout 479 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 206 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 182 graduates a year
Other Health ProfessionsAbout 181 graduates a year
Computer and Information ScienceAbout 149 graduates a year

Common questions

Electrical Engineering graduates earn a median of $80,623 in their first year, the most of 40 Oakland 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 Michigan 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