Which University of Iowa bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Computer Engineering graduates leave with a median of $19,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 51 University of Iowa bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does University of Iowa cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $11,283 a year, and $33,371 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $22,531 a year.

How many University of Iowa programs report graduate pay?

51 bachelor's programs and 11 certificate programs at University of Iowa report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

University of Iowa Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public university
Iowa City, IA
22,264 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

51 University of Iowa bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Computer Engineering pays the most in the first year ($79,228), and Area Studies the least ($19,426). The median program pays $39,133. University of Iowa also has 11 certificate programs that report pay.

In-state tuition and fees$11,283Per year. Out-of-state $33,371

Average net price after aid$22,531Per year

Graduation rate75%Within 6 years

Admission rate84%Of applicants

All 51 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Iowa" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Iowa. 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 Iowa
1	Computer EngineeringAbout 60 graduates a year	$79,228	Not reported	$19,500	1st of 2
2	Industrial EngineeringAbout 33 graduates a year	$75,699	$94,141	$22,540	1st of 2
3	Chemical EngineeringAbout 39 graduates a year	$75,340	$90,804	$27,000	2nd of 2
4	StatisticsAbout 22 graduates a year	$75,095	Not reported	$20,411	1st of 2
5	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 101 graduates a year	$71,732	$86,315	$23,109	3rd of 3
6	Electrical EngineeringAbout 37 graduates a year	$70,686	$110,672	$25,875	2nd of 2
7	Management ScienceAbout 183 graduates a year	$70,324	$96,419	$21,500	2nd of 4
8	Civil EngineeringAbout 45 graduates a year	$70,313	$85,051	$27,000	2nd of 2
9	NursingAbout 229 graduates a year	$69,368	$73,476	$24,811	6th of 16
10	AccountingAbout 143 graduates a year	$65,373	$90,952	$22,500	2nd of 17
11	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 47 graduates a year	$61,373	$67,426	$28,000	1st of 1
12	MathematicsAbout 79 graduates a year	$60,612	$74,686	$21,738	1st of 3
13	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 23 graduates a year	$60,199	$87,019	$26,025	3rd of 3
14	FinanceAbout 391 graduates a year	$59,965	$89,537	$23,165	2nd of 11
15	Biomedical EngineeringAbout 99 graduates a year	$58,144	$89,577	$27,000	1st of 1
16	Human ResourcesAbout 169 graduates a year	$52,945	$75,166	$23,149	2nd of 6
17	MarketingAbout 301 graduates a year	$52,895	$75,795	$25,000	1st of 12
18	EconomicsAbout 126 graduates a year	$50,223	$79,242	$22,407	2nd of 5
19	Business AdministrationAbout 201 graduates a year	$46,264	$80,929	$23,750	15th of 20
20	GeographyAbout 6 graduates a year	$45,566	Not reported	$23,904	1st of 1
21	Teacher EducationAbout 155 graduates a year	$45,015	$51,198	$27,000	5th of 22
22	ChemistryAbout 43 graduates a year	$44,847	$61,755	$25,956	1st of 2
23	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 77 graduates a year	$44,715	$50,407	$25,000	5th of 8
24	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 191 graduates a year	$40,791	$59,491	$25,269	3rd of 6
25	Social WorkAbout 38 graduates a year	$39,285	$52,381	$25,180	3rd of 6
26	Political ScienceAbout 139 graduates a year	$39,133	$63,699	$24,250	1st of 5
27	MusicAbout 52 graduates a year	$39,121	$37,858	$27,783	2nd of 4
28	Other Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 114 graduates a year	$38,584	$67,075	$24,929	1st of 3
29	CriminologyAbout 88 graduates a year	$38,520	Not reported	$23,250	3rd of 3
30	CommunicationsAbout 161 graduates a year	$37,647	$63,848	$25,814	5th of 6
31	Parks and RecreationAbout 43 graduates a year	$37,103	$51,944	$25,691	2nd of 2
32	International RelationsAbout 22 graduates a year	$36,376	$68,946	$26,030	1st of 1
33	Public HealthAbout 57 graduates a year	$35,852	Not reported	$21,500	1st of 1
34	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 56 graduates a year	$35,650	$50,387	$24,000	2nd of 4
35	BiologyAbout 107 graduates a year	$34,813	$60,631	$25,512	8th of 17
36	JournalismAbout 95 graduates a year	$34,743	$57,097	$25,907	3rd of 3
37	EnglishAbout 58 graduates a year	$34,116	$46,265	$22,000	4th of 4
38	HistoryAbout 52 graduates a year	$33,117	$58,682	$25,978	3rd of 4
39	PsychologyGraduates a year not reported	$33,057	$52,647	$24,398	9th of 15
40	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 543 graduates a year	$31,998	$65,473	$24,250	9th of 14
41	DanceAbout 15 graduates a year	$30,353	$41,919	$24,375	1st of 1
42	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 37 graduates a year	$29,991	$87,656	$21,626	4th of 4
43	Romance LanguagesAbout 41 graduates a year	$28,746	$50,428	$23,702	4th of 5
44	International StudiesAbout 21 graduates a year	$28,140	$51,488	$25,242	1st of 1
45	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 91 graduates a year	$28,008	$45,645	$27,000	1st of 3
46	AnthropologyAbout 35 graduates a year	$27,221	$42,460	$25,696	1st of 2
47	Film and PhotographyAbout 60 graduates a year	$26,147	$44,273	$25,000	1st of 1
48	TheatreAbout 55 graduates a year	$22,225	$42,847	$26,622	2nd of 3
49	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 67 graduates a year	$21,969	$60,807	$27,000	1st of 2
50	Other English StudiesAbout 148 graduates a year	$21,591	Not reported	$24,386	1st of 1
51	Area StudiesAbout 15 graduates a year	$19,426	Not reported	$27,000	1st of 1

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

4 more bachelor's programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

All 11 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Iowa" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Iowa. 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 Iowa
1	InsuranceGraduates a year not reported	$62,250	$95,685	$21,300	1st of 1
2	International BusinessGraduates a year not reported	$60,660	$64,400	$25,407	1st of 1
3	Personal Awareness and Self-ImprovementGraduates a year not reported	$53,316	$79,063	$20,500	1st of 1
4	EntrepreneurshipGraduates a year not reported	$46,878	$68,295	$26,000	1st of 1
5	Public HealthGraduates a year not reported	$41,503	Not reported	$23,438	1st of 1
6	Hospitality ManagementGraduates a year not reported	$36,752	Not reported	$26,642	1st of 1
7	Sustainability StudiesGraduates a year not reported	$34,699	$60,597	$21,425	1st of 1
8	Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender StudiesGraduates a year not reported	$34,216	$56,034	$26,000	1st of 1
9	Business AdministrationGraduates a year not reported	$34,012	$56,012	$26,033	1st of 2
10	Writing and RhetoricGraduates a year not reported	$29,647	$46,070	$24,862	1st of 1
11	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceGraduates a year not reported	$24,195	Not reported	$23,375	1st of 1

2 more certificate programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Computer Engineering$79,228
Industrial Engineering$75,699
Chemical Engineering$75,340
Statistics$75,095
Mechanical Engineering$71,732

Lowest median debt

Computer Engineering$19,500
Statistics$20,411
Management Science$21,500
Public Health$21,500
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology$21,626

Largest programs

Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 543 graduates a year
FinanceAbout 391 graduates a year
MarketingAbout 301 graduates a year
NursingAbout 229 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 201 graduates a year

Common questions

Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $79,228 in their first year, the most of 51 University of Iowa 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 Iowa 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