Which San Diego Mesa College associate's program has the lowest debt?

Psychology graduates leave with a median of $7,597 in federal loans, the lowest among 3 San Diego Mesa College associate's programs that report debt.

How much does San Diego Mesa College cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $1,146 a year, and $10,002 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $5,814 a year.

How many San Diego Mesa College programs report graduate pay?

3 associate's programs and one certificate program at San Diego Mesa College report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

San Diego Mesa College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
San Diego, CA
16,098 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

3 San Diego Mesa College associate's programs report what graduates earn. Business Administration pays the most in the first year ($40,642), and Biological and Physical Sciences the least ($19,521). The median program pays $26,229. San Diego Mesa College also has one certificate program that reports pay.

In-state tuition and fees$1,146Per year. Out-of-state $10,002

Average net price after aid$5,814Per year

Graduation rate35%Within 6 years

All 3 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in California" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across California. 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 California
1	Business AdministrationAbout 254 graduates a year	$40,642	$55,898	$8,000	3rd of 22
2	PsychologyAbout 119 graduates a year	$26,229	$42,029	$7,597	3rd of 10
3	Biological and Physical SciencesAbout 105 graduates a year	$19,521	$61,434	$7,785	12th of 12

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

2 more associate's programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

One certificate program

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

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in California
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 156 graduates a year	$33,015	$51,171	$6,125	2nd of 20

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

Common questions

Business Administration graduates earn a median of $40,642 in their first year, the most of 3 San Diego Mesa College associate'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 California 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