Which Southern Illinois University Edwardsville major has the lowest debt?

Business Economics graduates leave with a median of $19,514 in federal loans, the lowest among 31 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Southern Illinois University Edwardsville cost?

Tuition and fees are $12,922 a year for all students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $14,889 a year.

How many Southern Illinois University Edwardsville programs report graduate pay?

33 bachelor's programs at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville report first-year pay, and 31 of them also report federal debt.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public university
Edwardsville, IL
8,750 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

33 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Electrical Engineering pays the most in the first year ($79,617), and Theatre the least ($16,892). The median program pays $38,830.

Tuition and fees$12,922Per year, for all students

Average net price after aid$14,889Per year

Graduation rate57%Within 6 years

Admission rate98%Of applicants

All 33 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Illinois" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Illinois. 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 Illinois
1	Electrical EngineeringAbout 28 graduates a year	$79,617	$85,849	$25,113	2nd of 7
2	Computer ScienceAbout 82 graduates a year	$76,106	$102,647	$21,745	9th of 23
3	Industrial EngineeringAbout 22 graduates a year	$73,092	Not reported	Not reported	3rd of 6
4	Computer EngineeringAbout 12 graduates a year	$71,841	Not reported	$23,125	3rd of 5
5	NursingAbout 470 graduates a year	$71,161	$76,988	$23,043	22nd of 32
6	Construction Engineering TechnologyGraduates a year not reported	$67,450	$104,657	Not reported	1st of 1
7	Civil EngineeringAbout 50 graduates a year	$67,260	$83,754	$22,275	5th of 6
8	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 52 graduates a year	$66,546	$86,329	$23,110	7th of 8
9	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 3 graduates a year	$55,844	$85,645	$23,966	7th of 12
10	Business EconomicsGraduates a year not reported	$53,219	$82,140	$19,514	4th of 4
11	AccountingAbout 51 graduates a year	$49,046	$74,476	$20,500	24th of 28
12	ChemistryAbout 22 graduates a year	$46,659	$68,130	$25,000	2nd of 4
13	GeographyAbout 20 graduates a year	$44,543	$62,741	$23,775	1st of 4
14	Special EducationAbout 20 graduates a year	$44,205	$43,701	$19,850	9th of 10
15	Business AdministrationAbout 297 graduates a year	$43,753	$60,782	$22,500	28th of 38
16	Criminal JusticeAbout 83 graduates a year	$39,279	$59,204	$25,000	12th of 22
17	Teacher EducationAbout 93 graduates a year	$38,830	$44,029	$26,250	36th of 38
18	BiologyAbout 111 graduates a year	$38,067	$61,744	$22,396	4th of 27
19	Social WorkAbout 34 graduates a year	$36,974	$48,780	$25,000	9th of 13
20	CommunicationsAbout 87 graduates a year	$36,569	$48,374	$21,759	13th of 26
21	SociologyAbout 18 graduates a year	$35,415	$55,821	$26,500	6th of 16
22	Public HealthAbout 24 graduates a year	$35,023	Not reported	$29,223	6th of 6
23	MusicAbout 15 graduates a year	$34,079	Not reported	$23,500	4th of 13
24	PsychologyAbout 158 graduates a year	$32,459	$49,430	$25,000	15th of 35
25	Political ScienceAbout 22 graduates a year	$31,786	$61,148	$24,250	16th of 20
26	Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 54 graduates a year	$31,570	Not reported	$30,357	1st of 1
27	EnglishAbout 42 graduates a year	$31,420	$45,241	$25,250	12th of 18
28	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 69 graduates a year	$28,795	$55,851	$23,237	17th of 19
29	HistoryAbout 32 graduates a year	$26,916	$46,076	$21,500	11th of 13
30	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 25 graduates a year	$25,259	$38,018	$27,280	10th of 15
31	AnthropologyAbout 11 graduates a year	$23,379	Not reported	$25,000	5th of 7
32	PhilosophyAbout 11 graduates a year	$23,219	Not reported	$24,362	1st of 2
33	TheatreAbout 17 graduates a year	$16,892	$46,366	$26,010	13th of 14

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

Electrical Engineering$79,617
Computer Science$76,106
Industrial Engineering$73,092
Computer Engineering$71,841
Nursing$71,161

Lowest median debt

Business Economics$19,514
Special Education$19,850
Accounting$20,500
History$21,500
Computer Science$21,745

Largest programs

NursingAbout 470 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 297 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 158 graduates a year
BiologyAbout 111 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 93 graduates a year

Common questions

Electrical Engineering graduates earn a median of $79,617 in their first year, the most of 33 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 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 Illinois 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