Which Portland State major has the lowest debt?

Other Interdisciplinary Studies graduates leave with a median of $16,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 50 Portland State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Portland State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $11,679 a year, and $31,074 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $9,552 a year.

How many Portland State programs report graduate pay?

50 bachelor's programs at Portland State report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

Portland State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Portland State University
Public university
Portland, OR
13,182 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

50 Portland State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Computer Engineering pays the most in the first year ($87,259), and Music the least ($17,638). The median program pays $35,317.

In-state tuition and fees$11,679Per year. Out-of-state $31,074

Average net price after aid$9,552Per year

Graduation rate53%Within 6 years

Admission rate91%Of applicants

All 50 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Oregon" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Oregon. 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 Oregon
1	Computer EngineeringAbout 20 graduates a year	$87,259	Not reported	$35,166	1st of 1
2	Electrical EngineeringAbout 57 graduates a year	$82,853	$104,747	$29,593	1st of 4
3	Computer ScienceAbout 160 graduates a year	$78,669	$126,086	$31,000	4th of 5
4	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 75 graduates a year	$73,079	$88,755	$29,113	3rd of 4
5	Civil EngineeringAbout 50 graduates a year	$67,509	$87,595	$31,000	3rd of 4
6	PhysicsAbout 18 graduates a year	$62,749	$84,248	$29,070	1st of 2
7	AccountingAbout 153 graduates a year	$58,069	$74,599	$31,000	4th of 6
8	FinanceAbout 112 graduates a year	$52,859	$80,287	$20,570	1st of 3
9	Business AdministrationAbout 263 graduates a year	$51,358	$76,365	$25,000	3rd of 9
10	Human ResourcesAbout 122 graduates a year	$49,696	$73,873	$25,460	1st of 1
11	EconomicsAbout 35 graduates a year	$47,865	$61,635	$24,949	3rd of 6
12	Urban StudiesAbout 22 graduates a year	$45,870	Not reported	$36,850	1st of 1
13	Criminal JusticeAbout 151 graduates a year	$45,401	$54,626	$26,641	1st of 3
14	Social WorkAbout 94 graduates a year	$41,594	$56,234	$25,624	1st of 2
15	MarketingAbout 192 graduates a year	$41,395	$67,800	$19,500	5th of 5
16	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 14 graduates a year	$40,230	Not reported	$25,000	1st of 3
17	Geology and Earth ScienceAbout 26 graduates a year	$37,831	$58,152	$24,125	2nd of 2
18	Health SciencesAbout 164 graduates a year	$37,709	Not reported	$19,750	1st of 1
19	Other BusinessAbout 45 graduates a year	$37,585	$64,305	$20,250	1st of 1
20	MathematicsAbout 36 graduates a year	$37,427	$68,456	$26,480	2nd of 3
21	Biological and Physical SciencesAbout 133 graduates a year	$37,419	$65,769	$27,500	2nd of 2
22	Public HealthAbout 119 graduates a year	$36,762	$54,207	$27,000	2nd of 4
23	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 35 graduates a year	$35,615	$61,116	$23,907	1st of 2
24	ChemistryAbout 19 graduates a year	$35,395	$84,800	$24,773	2nd of 2
25	GeographyAbout 14 graduates a year	$35,330	$45,964	$26,500	2nd of 2
26	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 95 graduates a year	$35,304	$63,970	$26,995	2nd of 5
27	Political ScienceAbout 76 graduates a year	$35,173	$50,807	$23,818	4th of 6
28	CommunicationsAbout 74 graduates a year	$35,143	$55,465	$24,582	4th of 10
29	Social SciencesAbout 275 graduates a year	$35,093	$49,355	$31,000	4th of 5
30	AnthropologyAbout 27 graduates a year	$34,862	$43,474	$23,500	1st of 3
31	Community Organization and AdvocacyAbout 25 graduates a year	$34,020	$50,265	$22,250	1st of 1
32	PsychologyAbout 350 graduates a year	$33,179	$48,227	$24,499	5th of 14
33	ArchitectureAbout 30 graduates a year	$32,678	$59,730	$25,000	2nd of 2
34	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 57 graduates a year	$32,481	$49,354	$23,334	3rd of 3
35	Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender StudiesAbout 20 graduates a year	$32,441	$55,563	$26,500	1st of 1
36	Other Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 111 graduates a year	$31,571	$57,275	$16,500	3rd of 5
37	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 63 graduates a year	$31,512	$47,669	$29,250	3rd of 6
38	International RelationsAbout 19 graduates a year	$30,253	$36,229	$24,250	1st of 1
39	BiologyAbout 161 graduates a year	$29,468	$53,504	$25,750	8th of 14
40	SociologyAbout 53 graduates a year	$28,708	$46,213	$25,000	4th of 4
41	EnglishAbout 81 graduates a year	$27,819	$47,120	$24,546	4th of 6
42	Romance LanguagesAbout 17 graduates a year	$27,500	$39,211	$19,416	4th of 5
43	Film and PhotographyAbout 47 graduates a year	$27,028	$44,469	$25,000	2nd of 3
44	TheatreAbout 8 graduates a year	$25,352	$42,373	$39,773	1st of 3
45	East Asian LanguagesAbout 10 graduates a year	$25,262	Not reported	$25,500	2nd of 2
46	HistoryAbout 47 graduates a year	$24,612	$45,602	$31,000	4th of 5
47	PhilosophyAbout 17 graduates a year	$24,124	$38,776	$24,072	2nd of 2
48	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 233 graduates a year	$23,253	$43,029	$30,250	2nd of 2
49	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 41 graduates a year	$20,866	$33,420	$35,125	5th of 5
50	MusicAbout 20 graduates a year	$17,638	$20,098	$27,846	2nd of 2

Program names link to the program's own page, and Oregon 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 Oregon programs in the field do too.

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

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Computer Engineering$87,259
Electrical Engineering$82,853
Computer Science$78,669
Mechanical Engineering$73,079
Civil Engineering$67,509

Lowest median debt

Other Interdisciplinary Studies$16,500
Romance Languages$19,416
Marketing$19,500
Health Sciences$19,750
Other Business$20,250

Largest programs

PsychologyAbout 350 graduates a year
Social SciencesAbout 275 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 263 graduates a year
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 233 graduates a year
MarketingAbout 192 graduates a year

Common questions

Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $87,259 in their first year, the most of 50 Portland 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 Oregon 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