Which San Diego State major has the lowest debt?

Fine and Studio Arts graduates leave with a median of $9,899 in federal loans, the lowest among 57 San Diego State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does San Diego State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $8,728 a year, and $21,328 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $15,364 a year.

How many San Diego State programs report graduate pay?

59 bachelor's programs at San Diego State report first-year pay, and 57 of them also report federal debt.

San Diego State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

San Diego State University
Public university
San Diego, CA
35,377 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

59 San Diego State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($100,221), and East Asian Languages the least ($17,464). The median program pays $36,916.

In-state tuition and fees$8,728Per year. Out-of-state $21,328

Average net price after aid$15,364Per year

Graduation rate76%Within 6 years

Admission rate36%Of applicants

All 59 bachelor'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 bachelor'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	NursingAbout 195 graduates a year	$100,221	$109,894	$18,875	21st of 35
2	Construction Engineering TechnologyAbout 16 graduates a year	$81,608	Not reported	Not reported	4th of 6
3	Computer EngineeringAbout 122 graduates a year	$76,812	Not reported	$16,248	9th of 19
4	Electrical EngineeringAbout 101 graduates a year	$75,061	$100,171	$18,165	14th of 21
5	Computer ScienceAbout 206 graduates a year	$74,523	$114,373	$16,499	18th of 39
6	Aerospace EngineeringAbout 111 graduates a year	$74,375	$93,649	$23,000	4th of 9
7	Civil EngineeringAbout 142 graduates a year	$73,584	$96,325	$19,832	10th of 20
8	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 259 graduates a year	$69,754	$99,279	$19,994	16th of 26
9	Environmental EngineeringAbout 36 graduates a year	$66,482	Not reported	$19,089	2nd of 5
10	StatisticsAbout 41 graduates a year	$57,734	Not reported	$16,047	3rd of 7
11	AccountingGraduates a year not reported	$57,157	$96,719	$15,218	20th of 23
12	Computer and Information ScienceGraduates a year not reported	$54,244	$87,236	$16,375	9th of 18
13	FinanceGraduates a year not reported	$53,373	$70,355	$15,000	8th of 12
14	MarketingGraduates a year not reported	$48,229	$79,506	$15,000	6th of 13
15	Business AdministrationAbout 2,008 graduates a year	$46,275	$74,342	$15,000	39th of 57
16	MicrobiologyAbout 28 graduates a year	$45,360	Not reported	$15,500	8th of 13
17	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 34 graduates a year	$44,197	$69,123	$17,038	4th of 10
18	EconomicsAbout 197 graduates a year	$44,125	$77,568	$15,250	25th of 35
19	ChemistryAbout 95 graduates a year	$43,603	$67,059	$17,499	13th of 23
20	Applied MathematicsAbout 39 graduates a year	$42,856	Not reported	$24,563	7th of 8
21	Geology and Earth ScienceAbout 8 graduates a year	$41,351	Not reported	$21,500	5th of 10
22	Public HealthAbout 169 graduates a year	$41,092	Not reported	$13,812	6th of 16
23	Public AdministrationAbout 56 graduates a year	$41,020	$50,842	$15,000	5th of 7
24	Hospitality ManagementAbout 53 graduates a year	$40,009	$58,612	$17,749	1st of 7
25	GeographyAbout 42 graduates a year	$38,648	Not reported	$14,999	4th of 13
26	HistoryAbout 81 graduates a year	$38,203	$45,688	$13,881	1st of 30
27	International BusinessAbout 106 graduates a year	$38,138	$62,849	$13,644	7th of 8
28	Political ScienceAbout 169 graduates a year	$38,060	$70,987	$17,068	14th of 44
29	CommunicationsAbout 261 graduates a year	$37,773	$59,719	$15,675	19th of 39
30	Social WorkAbout 123 graduates a year	$36,916	$53,843	$15,176	11th of 16
31	Health SciencesGraduates a year not reported	$35,624	$62,278	$26,150	10th of 13
32	International RelationsAbout 49 graduates a year	$35,361	$67,020	$17,134	7th of 12
33	SociologyAbout 169 graduates a year	$35,136	$50,363	$12,500	20th of 42
34	Nutrition ScienceAbout 84 graduates a year	$34,878	Not reported	$18,000	2nd of 9
35	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 102 graduates a year	$34,090	$58,289	$13,191	13th of 24
36	Parks and RecreationAbout 18 graduates a year	$33,692	$62,734	$14,999	6th of 9
37	BiologyAbout 276 graduates a year	$33,597	$70,169	$17,998	23rd of 47
38	Criminal JusticeAbout 415 graduates a year	$33,261	$55,637	$12,998	18th of 20
39	Other Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 244 graduates a year	$33,165	$47,974	$15,862	6th of 8
40	Design and Applied ArtsGraduates a year not reported	$31,459	$56,904	$13,716	15th of 27
41	JournalismAbout 167 graduates a year	$30,269	Not reported	$14,998	11th of 14
42	PhilosophyAbout 32 graduates a year	$29,712	Not reported	$27,000	7th of 15
43	PsychologyAbout 646 graduates a year	$29,346	$46,082	$14,301	32nd of 54
44	Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender StudiesAbout 44 graduates a year	$29,267	$44,417	$20,499	15th of 21
45	Teacher EducationAbout 139 graduates a year	$28,793	$45,763	$12,999	15th of 18
46	Romance LanguagesAbout 73 graduates a year	$28,182	$43,905	$14,957	13th of 23
47	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 354 graduates a year	$26,327	$64,740	$15,000	20th of 31
48	AnthropologyAbout 49 graduates a year	$25,553	Not reported	$13,099	17th of 22
49	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 1 graduates a year	$25,361	Not reported	$19,999	9th of 9
50	EnglishAbout 108 graduates a year	$24,157	$50,504	$14,997	21st of 35
51	Social SciencesAbout 41 graduates a year	$23,704	$31,866	$20,915	8th of 10
52	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 227 graduates a year	$23,190	$58,202	$12,496	31st of 34
53	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 254 graduates a year	$23,186	$40,935	$9,899	10th of 29
54	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 95 graduates a year	$22,487	$53,045	$15,248	11th of 12
55	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 160 graduates a year	$22,378	$75,255	$15,000	11th of 13
56	Linguistics and Language StudiesAbout 26 graduates a year	$22,001	Not reported	$11,000	7th of 12
57	TheatreAbout 49 graduates a year	$20,538	$28,363	$15,000	12th of 23
58	MusicAbout 47 graduates a year	$20,440	$34,258	$15,131	16th of 24
59	East Asian LanguagesAbout 4 graduates a year	$17,464	Not reported	Not reported	4th of 4

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

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

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$100,221
Construction Engineering Technology$81,608
Computer Engineering$76,812
Electrical Engineering$75,061
Computer Science$74,523

Lowest median debt

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 2,008 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 646 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 415 graduates a year
Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 354 graduates a year
BiologyAbout 276 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $100,221 in their first year, the most of 59 San Diego 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 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