Which University of Arkansas-Fort Smith bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Subject-Area Teacher Education graduates leave with a median of $16,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 13 University of Arkansas-Fort Smith bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does University of Arkansas-Fort Smith cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $7,334 a year, and $12,182 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $10,574 a year.

How many University of Arkansas-Fort Smith programs report graduate pay?

15 bachelor's programs and one associate's program at University of Arkansas-Fort Smith report first-year pay, and 14 of them also report federal debt.

University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public university
Fort Smith, AR
4,091 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

15 University of Arkansas-Fort Smith bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($69,618), and Chemistry the least ($22,255). The median program pays $33,460. University of Arkansas-Fort Smith also has one associate's program that reports pay.

In-state tuition and fees$7,334Per year. Out-of-state $12,182

Average net price after aid$10,574Per year

Graduation rate38%Within 6 years

Admission rate80%Of applicants

All 15 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Arkansas" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Arkansas. 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 Arkansas
1	NursingAbout 67 graduates a year	$69,618	$73,763	$24,250	7th of 13
2	Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 14 graduates a year	$58,380	Not reported	$24,625	2nd of 2
3	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 7 graduates a year	$54,484	Not reported	Not reported	3rd of 3
4	Computer and Information ScienceGraduates a year not reported	$51,896	$79,556	$21,823	4th of 7
5	Teacher EducationAbout 41 graduates a year	$40,565	$42,085	$20,304	5th of 11
6	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 21 graduates a year	$40,525	$44,674	$16,500	5th of 8
7	Business AdministrationAbout 248 graduates a year	$39,057	$49,573	$19,148	6th of 12
8	Criminal JusticeAbout 36 graduates a year	$33,460	$43,544	$18,750	7th of 8
9	Social WorkAbout 30 graduates a year	$32,532	Not reported	$23,500	5th of 7
10	PsychologyAbout 33 graduates a year	$29,853	$36,938	$22,500	5th of 12
11	CommunicationsAbout 14 graduates a year	$28,951	Not reported	$23,000	6th of 7
12	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 21 graduates a year	$26,728	$42,814	$28,187	10th of 10
13	BiologyAbout 40 graduates a year	$26,541	$51,318	$17,081	7th of 9
14	HistoryAbout 18 graduates a year	$26,445	$43,211	$19,700	3rd of 4
15	ChemistryAbout 17 graduates a year	$22,255	Not reported	Not reported	3rd of 3

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

One associate's program

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Arkansas" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Arkansas.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Arkansas
Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 32 graduates a year	$45,967	$34,796	$12,491	6th of 8

Program names link to the program's own page, and Arkansas ranks link to the full ranking for the field.

One more associate's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$69,618
Dental Hygiene and Assisting$58,380
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$54,484
Computer and Information Science$51,896
Teacher Education$40,565

Lowest median debt

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 248 graduates a year
NursingAbout 67 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 41 graduates a year
BiologyAbout 40 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 36 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $69,618 in their first year, the most of 15 University of Arkansas-Fort Smith 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 Arkansas 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