Which Shepherd University major has the lowest debt?

Business Administration graduates leave with a median of $18,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 15 Shepherd University bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Shepherd University cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $9,056 a year, and $19,082 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $11,363 a year.

How many Shepherd University programs report graduate pay?

15 bachelor's programs at Shepherd University report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

Shepherd University Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public university
Shepherdstown, WV
2,344 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

15 Shepherd University bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($75,914), and Communications the least ($23,653). The median program pays $33,587.

In-state tuition and fees$9,056Per year. Out-of-state $19,082

Average net price after aid$11,363Per year

Graduation rate51%Within 6 years

Admission rate97%Of applicants

All 15 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in West Virginia" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across West Virginia. 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 West Virginia
1	NursingAbout 66 graduates a year	$75,914	$81,437	$27,206	3rd of 9
2	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 24 graduates a year	$57,265	$79,302	$21,830	4th of 5
3	BiologyAbout 24 graduates a year	$49,165	$57,987	$21,937	1st of 6
4	Teacher EducationAbout 41 graduates a year	$46,549	$48,740	$25,000	1st of 8
5	Business AdministrationAbout 59 graduates a year	$41,766	$53,057	$18,500	7th of 13
6	Health SciencesAbout 14 graduates a year	$39,351	Not reported	$25,000	1st of 1
7	Parks and RecreationAbout 25 graduates a year	$34,287	$50,742	$24,950	1st of 1
8	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 65 graduates a year	$33,587	$54,880	$29,500	6th of 11
9	SociologyAbout 19 graduates a year	$33,190	$56,868	$20,030	3rd of 3
10	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 24 graduates a year	$33,059	$37,624	$21,500	1st of 3
11	Social WorkAbout 28 graduates a year	$32,965	$54,356	$27,722	4th of 5
12	PsychologyAbout 25 graduates a year	$31,282	$54,041	$22,500	2nd of 8
13	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 16 graduates a year	$29,921	$51,173	$25,000	2nd of 2
14	EnglishAbout 3 graduates a year	$27,186	Not reported	$19,661	3rd of 4
15	CommunicationsAbout 19 graduates a year	$23,653	$34,523	$19,558	2nd of 2

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

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$75,914
Computer and Information Science$57,265
Biology$49,165
Teacher Education$46,549
Business Administration$41,766

Lowest median debt

Business Administration$18,500
Communications$19,558
English$19,661
Sociology$20,030
Fine and Studio Arts$21,500

Largest programs

NursingAbout 66 graduates a year
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 65 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 59 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 41 graduates a year
Social WorkAbout 28 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $75,914 in their first year, the most of 15 Shepherd University 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 West Virginia 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