Which Washington State major has the lowest debt?

Food Science graduates leave with a median of $14,780 in federal loans, the lowest among 48 Washington State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Washington State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $13,391 a year, and $29,950 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $14,971 a year.

How many Washington State programs report graduate pay?

52 bachelor's programs at Washington State report first-year pay, and 48 of them also report federal debt.

Washington State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Washington State University
Public university
Pullman, WA
21,099 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

52 Washington State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Computer Engineering pays the most in the first year ($87,135), and Anthropology the least ($25,519). The median program pays $43,403.

In-state tuition and fees$13,391Per year. Out-of-state $29,950

Average net price after aid$14,971Per year

Graduation rate61%Within 6 years

Admission rate87%Of applicants

All 52 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Washington" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Washington. 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 Washington
1	Computer EngineeringAbout 36 graduates a year	$87,135	$110,492	$21,750	3rd of 3
2	NursingAbout 351 graduates a year	$83,894	$84,931	$21,500	10th of 15
3	Construction Engineering TechnologyAbout 69 graduates a year	$80,404	Not reported	$28,550	1st of 1
4	Electrical EngineeringAbout 71 graduates a year	$79,874	$100,264	$21,030	4th of 7
5	Computer ScienceAbout 193 graduates a year	$79,519	$108,566	$22,453	4th of 9
6	Civil EngineeringAbout 86 graduates a year	$74,841	$89,281	$22,450	1st of 5
7	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 221 graduates a year	$72,690	$92,146	$21,000	1st of 7
8	Chemical EngineeringAbout 35 graduates a year	$69,820	$88,132	$22,500	1st of 2
9	Management Information SystemsAbout 45 graduates a year	$59,490	$81,392	$23,500	2nd of 3
10	AccountingAbout 182 graduates a year	$57,618	$77,091	$25,000	6th of 8
11	FinanceAbout 200 graduates a year	$56,947	$82,433	$19,762	2nd of 5
12	Agricultural ProductionAbout 14 graduates a year	$56,743	$61,477	$17,395	1st of 1
13	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 14 graduates a year	$55,864	Not reported	Not reported	2nd of 5
14	Business AdministrationAbout 216 graduates a year	$52,636	$69,669	$21,102	6th of 18
15	Architectural TechnologyAbout 55 graduates a year	$49,561	Not reported	$27,000	2nd of 2
16	Materials EngineeringAbout 15 graduates a year	$49,560	Not reported	$29,760	2nd of 2
17	International BusinessAbout 16 graduates a year	$48,292	$83,952	$16,659	2nd of 3
18	Food ScienceAbout 23 graduates a year	$47,970	$70,646	$14,780	1st of 1
19	Plant ScienceAbout 23 graduates a year	$47,531	Not reported	$17,539	1st of 1
20	MarketingAbout 230 graduates a year	$47,051	$82,094	$19,949	2nd of 6
21	Teacher EducationAbout 218 graduates a year	$46,998	$62,904	$22,960	7th of 14
22	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 26 graduates a year	$46,514	$60,741	$22,500	1st of 3
23	Biological and Physical SciencesAbout 28 graduates a year	$46,288	$68,997	$19,500	1st of 3
24	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 262 graduates a year	$45,820	Not reported	$20,500	1st of 4
25	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 21 graduates a year	$44,823	$61,992	$22,802	3rd of 7
26	MicrobiologyAbout 14 graduates a year	$43,736	$71,666	$21,250	1st of 2
27	Social SciencesAbout 233 graduates a year	$43,069	$59,442	$25,409	2nd of 3
28	Hospitality ManagementAbout 145 graduates a year	$41,251	$55,920	$25,000	1st of 1
29	Political ScienceAbout 73 graduates a year	$41,130	$61,086	$23,250	5th of 12
30	Criminal JusticeGraduates a year not reported	$41,020	$63,847	$21,577	3rd of 4
31	Apparel and TextilesAbout 46 graduates a year	$40,081	$57,364	$19,500	2nd of 2
32	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 81 graduates a year	$40,061	$46,521	$22,881	2nd of 5
33	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 135 graduates a year	$39,880	$48,017	$24,019	1st of 3
34	SociologyAbout 55 graduates a year	$39,801	$50,035	$21,475	2nd of 8
35	EconomicsAbout 45 graduates a year	$39,762	$90,097	$25,656	10th of 11
36	CommunicationsGraduates a year not reported	$38,747	$63,822	Not reported	4th of 11
37	BiologyAbout 243 graduates a year	$36,290	$63,464	$21,500	5th of 12
38	JournalismAbout 86 graduates a year	$36,273	Not reported	$22,506	2nd of 4
39	PsychologyAbout 513 graduates a year	$36,216	$56,856	$21,500	4th of 14
40	Geology and Earth ScienceAbout 130 graduates a year	$33,178	$65,534	$22,905	2nd of 3
41	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 124 graduates a year	$32,416	$53,821	$20,700	3rd of 3
42	Animal ScienceAbout 104 graduates a year	$31,911	$47,320	$19,545	1st of 1
43	HistoryAbout 78 graduates a year	$31,220	$56,656	$24,000	3rd of 6
44	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 61 graduates a year	$30,815	$64,225	$20,981	4th of 7
45	Biomedical EngineeringAbout 17 graduates a year	$30,778	$95,879	Not reported	2nd of 2
46	Public PolicyAbout 5 graduates a year	$30,303	$54,659	Not reported	1st of 1
47	EnglishAbout 94 graduates a year	$28,876	$48,754	$21,375	8th of 9
48	ZoologyAbout 37 graduates a year	$28,469	$52,434	$17,875	1st of 1
49	NeuroscienceAbout 44 graduates a year	$28,316	$59,721	$18,647	2nd of 3
50	Applied MathematicsAbout 49 graduates a year	$27,626	$70,386	$17,675	1st of 1
51	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 16 graduates a year	$27,463	$60,325	$26,000	1st of 3
52	AnthropologyAbout 34 graduates a year	$25,519	$40,262	$18,500	3rd of 4

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

Computer Engineering$87,135
Nursing$83,894
Construction Engineering Technology$80,404
Electrical Engineering$79,874
Computer Science$79,519

Lowest median debt

Food Science$14,780
International Business$16,659
Agricultural Production$17,395
Plant Science$17,539
Applied Mathematics$17,675

Largest programs

PsychologyAbout 513 graduates a year
NursingAbout 351 graduates a year
Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 262 graduates a year
BiologyAbout 243 graduates a year
Social SciencesAbout 233 graduates a year

Common questions

Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $87,135 in their first year, the most of 52 Washington State 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 Washington 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