Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Public Health (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Public Health
  • Public university
  • Edwardsville, IL
  • About 24 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release ยท BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville public health graduates earn about what public health graduates earn nationally, $35,023 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $29,223 in federal loans, more than at 87% of public health programs in the country. Several Illinois programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$35,02328th percentile of 186 programs nationally
Median federal debt$29,2236th lowest of 6 Illinois programs
Debt-to-earnings83%Illinois median 53%, national 63%

How it compares

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

Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois public health program

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

Southern Illinois University EdwardsvilleOther Illinois programs

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

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $310 a month, or 10.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

30 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $11,406.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

80% of graduates (36 of 45) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the St. Louis area are about 5% below the national average, so a $35,023 salary here buys what about $36,832 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 public health, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Medical and Health Services Managers

$117,850

Median pay in Illinois. 22,460 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 24% from 2025 to 2035, with about 62,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $75,920Top 10%: $227,180

Compliance Officers

$80,550

Median pay in Illinois. 10,650 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 32,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $50,040Top 10%: $132,290

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$82,330

Median pay in Illinois. 4,700 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $59,550Top 10%: $143,890

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists

$98,270

Median pay in Illinois. 2,900 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 19% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $61,160Top 10%: $137,000

About Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Public Health ranks 22nd of 33 bachelor's programs at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($79,617), Computer Science ($76,106), and Industrial Engineering ($73,092).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $35,023 one year after graduating. The median across public health bachelor's programs in Illinois is $40,260.

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 Illinois 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 public health 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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