Seattle University Computer Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Computer Science
  • Private nonprofit university
  • Seattle, WA
  • About 84 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Seattle University computer science graduates earn more than graduates of most computer science programs nationally, $85,285 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,980 in federal loans, close to the national median of $23,308. It is one of the higher-paying computer science degrees in Washington.

First-year earnings$85,28580th percentile of 331 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$132,71356% more than year one
Median federal debt$24,9805th lowest of 8 Washington programs
Debt-to-earnings29%Washington median 32%, national 34%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Washington and national columns are the medians across all computer science bachelor's programs that report the figure.

Five years out, Seattle University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $22,942 more than the Washington median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Washington computer science program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Washington medians.

Seattle UniversityOther Washington programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 56% between the first and fifth year.

Seattle University grads, year 1$85,285
Seattle University grads, year 5$132,713
All Washington computer science grads, year 5$109,771

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned slightly more in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed less. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$84,997Median debt $21,561
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$80,829Median debt $24,990

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $265 a month, or 3.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

85% of graduates (41 of 48) were working in Washington one year after graduating. Prices in the Seattle area are about 11% above the national average, so a $85,285 salary here buys what about $76,741 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to computer science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Software Developers

$166,540

Median pay in Washington. 107,030 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 95,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $96,810Top 10%: $255,350

Computer and Information Systems Managers

$209,370

Median pay in Washington. 16,960 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 16% from 2025 to 2035, with about 53,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $130,010Top 10%: $327,300

Data Scientists

$163,350

Median pay in Washington. 9,600 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 35% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $79,930Top 10%: $220,040

Information Security Analysts

$154,940

Median pay in Washington. 6,030 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 21% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $96,730Top 10%: $211,720

About Seattle University

Computer Science ranks 2nd of 24 bachelor's programs at Seattle University by first-year earnings. The top three are Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($102,664), Computer Science ($85,285), and Nursing ($81,021).

Other computer science bachelor's programs near Seattle

Common questions

The median graduate earns $85,285 one year after graduating and $132,713 five years after. The median across computer science bachelor's programs in Washington is $76,636.

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
  • Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
  • Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
  • 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 Washington comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
  • Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
  • School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the computer science program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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