Which Rhode Island College major has the lowest debt?

Chemistry graduates leave with a median of $13,867 in federal loans, the lowest among 29 Rhode Island College bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Rhode Island College cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $11,300 a year, and $27,299 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $9,478 a year.

How many Rhode Island College programs report graduate pay?

31 bachelor's programs at Rhode Island College report first-year pay, and 29 of them also report federal debt.

Rhode Island College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Providence, RI
5,049 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

31 Rhode Island College bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($73,235), and Film and Photography the least ($18,685). The median program pays $36,742.

In-state tuition and fees$11,300Per year. Out-of-state $27,299

Average net price after aid$9,478Per year

Graduation rate48%Within 6 years

Admission rate92%Of applicants

All 31 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Rhode Island" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Rhode Island. 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 Rhode Island
1	NursingAbout 121 graduates a year	$73,235	$80,586	$27,000	4th of 4
2	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 49 graduates a year	$60,999	$67,913	$27,000	1st of 1
3	Computer ScienceAbout 42 graduates a year	$60,361	Not reported	$25,000	3rd of 3
4	Special EducationAbout 8 graduates a year	$50,060	$56,951	$29,851	2nd of 3
5	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 24 graduates a year	$49,825	$62,906	$26,877	2nd of 2
6	AccountingAbout 39 graduates a year	$48,921	$66,478	$18,881	5th of 6
7	Management Information SystemsAbout 13 graduates a year	$47,857	Not reported	$20,725	1st of 1
8	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 59 graduates a year	$44,789	$54,765	$29,659	1st of 2
9	ChemistryAbout 4 graduates a year	$44,648	$94,239	$13,867	1st of 1
10	Business AdministrationAbout 66 graduates a year	$43,047	$66,333	$23,044	6th of 8
11	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 7 graduates a year	$40,752	Not reported	$24,125	1st of 3
12	BiologyAbout 36 graduates a year	$39,910	$68,594	$26,949	4th of 7
13	Criminal JusticeAbout 53 graduates a year	$38,163	$55,218	$21,625	3rd of 4
14	Teacher EducationAbout 33 graduates a year	$38,095	$51,204	$27,973	3rd of 3
15	Mental Health and Addiction ServicesAbout 14 graduates a year	$37,320	$42,668	$27,000	1st of 1
16	SociologyAbout 23 graduates a year	$36,742	$49,819	$21,100	2nd of 3
17	MarketingAbout 23 graduates a year	$36,474	$57,338	$19,500	7th of 7
18	Health SciencesAbout 44 graduates a year	$34,995	$52,978	$27,000	2nd of 2
19	FinanceAbout 10 graduates a year	$34,991	$74,665	$23,750	7th of 7
20	MusicAbout 10 graduates a year	$34,549	$49,042	$14,133	1st of 1
21	CommunicationsAbout 21 graduates a year	$34,357	$45,774	$25,000	3rd of 7
22	PsychologyAbout 113 graduates a year	$33,694	$46,205	$22,723	4th of 5
23	Social WorkAbout 90 graduates a year	$33,561	$50,901	$24,100	1st of 1
24	Public AdministrationAbout 10 graduates a year	$32,409	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
25	HistoryAbout 12 graduates a year	$31,981	$41,708	$24,141	4th of 4
26	NeuroscienceGraduates a year not reported	$30,172	$47,176	$25,000	2nd of 2
27	EnglishAbout 14 graduates a year	$29,389	$45,516	$20,252	4th of 4
28	Political ScienceAbout 22 graduates a year	$29,178	$62,896	$21,435	6th of 6
29	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 14 graduates a year	$28,241	$42,389	$23,500	1st of 4
30	TheatreAbout 16 graduates a year	$24,526	$37,031	$24,523	1st of 2
31	Film and PhotographyAbout 7 graduates a year	$18,685	Not reported	Not reported	2nd of 3

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

Nursing$73,235
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$60,999
Computer Science$60,361
Special Education$50,060
Health and Medical Administration$49,825

Lowest median debt

Chemistry$13,867
Music$14,133
Accounting$18,881
Marketing$19,500
English$20,252

Largest programs

NursingAbout 121 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 113 graduates a year
Social WorkAbout 90 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 66 graduates a year
Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 59 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $73,235 in their first year, the most of 31 Rhode Island College 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 Rhode Island 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