Which Western Carolina University major has the lowest debt?

Public Administration graduates leave with a median of $18,375 in federal loans, the lowest among 41 Western Carolina University bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Western Carolina University cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $4,630 a year, and $8,630 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $13,315 a year.

How many Western Carolina University programs report graduate pay?

41 bachelor's programs at Western Carolina University report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

Western Carolina University Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public university
Cullowhee, NC
10,024 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

41 Western Carolina University bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Electrical Engineering pays the most in the first year ($69,067), and Dietetics the least ($17,970). The median program pays $34,909.

In-state tuition and fees$4,630Per year. Out-of-state $8,630

Average net price after aid$13,315Per year

Graduation rate60%Within 6 years

Admission rate82%Of applicants

All 41 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in North Carolina" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across North Carolina. 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 North Carolina
1	Electrical EngineeringAbout 17 graduates a year	$69,067	Not reported	$31,000	4th of 4
2	NursingAbout 238 graduates a year	$68,774	$72,955	$23,163	21st of 26
3	Electrical Engineering TechnologyAbout 15 graduates a year	$67,003	Not reported	$23,154	1st of 3
4	Construction Engineering TechnologyAbout 48 graduates a year	$63,401	$85,272	$27,000	2nd of 2
5	EngineeringAbout 45 graduates a year	$62,244	Not reported	$25,550	4th of 4
6	Engineering TechnologyAbout 44 graduates a year	$59,813	$66,644	$25,250	1st of 1
7	Public AdministrationAbout 120 graduates a year	$56,445	$61,307	$18,375	1st of 1
8	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 60 graduates a year	$53,398	$57,020	$23,835	2nd of 2
9	Management Information SystemsAbout 37 graduates a year	$47,867	$77,089	$23,000	3rd of 3
10	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 53 graduates a year	$41,444	$47,600	$25,500	6th of 10
11	Special EducationAbout 19 graduates a year	$41,376	$43,364	$20,485	6th of 6
12	AccountingAbout 45 graduates a year	$40,607	$61,038	$20,000	17th of 19
13	Teacher EducationAbout 169 graduates a year	$40,594	$44,949	$24,714	18th of 25
14	FinanceAbout 85 graduates a year	$40,575	$64,679	$23,625	8th of 9
15	Business AdministrationAbout 253 graduates a year	$39,513	$50,856	$23,495	24th of 37
16	Criminal JusticeAbout 156 graduates a year	$38,682	$53,478	$21,461	6th of 24
17	Rehabilitation and TherapyAbout 25 graduates a year	$37,608	$44,961	$24,000	2nd of 4
18	Environmental Management and PolicyAbout 23 graduates a year	$36,846	$42,455	$21,962	1st of 1
19	Social WorkAbout 50 graduates a year	$36,727	$46,183	$25,857	4th of 15
20	Romance LanguagesAbout 15 graduates a year	$36,179	Not reported	$23,250	1st of 5
21	HistoryAbout 45 graduates a year	$34,909	$50,346	$24,004	2nd of 11
22	MathematicsAbout 25 graduates a year	$34,802	$43,145	$27,000	7th of 9
23	MarketingAbout 152 graduates a year	$33,197	$57,435	$23,508	10th of 10
24	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 23 graduates a year	$32,842	$51,717	$29,911	7th of 9
25	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 38 graduates a year	$32,428	$40,898	$25,000	4th of 30
26	Recreation ManagementAbout 31 graduates a year	$30,485	$41,615	$22,252	3rd of 5
27	EnglishAbout 46 graduates a year	$29,927	$35,809	$25,000	8th of 15
28	Hospitality ManagementAbout 32 graduates a year	$29,395	$46,877	$26,000	5th of 6
29	CommunicationsAbout 58 graduates a year	$28,996	$48,606	$18,500	13th of 20
30	Computer ScienceAbout 22 graduates a year	$28,892	$93,802	$27,000	15th of 15
31	BiologyAbout 85 graduates a year	$28,381	$55,306	$26,037	25th of 28
32	AnthropologyAbout 40 graduates a year	$28,262	$37,633	$22,595	4th of 10
33	PsychologyAbout 148 graduates a year	$27,505	$40,666	$23,250	20th of 24
34	ChemistryAbout 51 graduates a year	$26,513	$58,765	$20,824	10th of 10
35	MusicAbout 36 graduates a year	$26,135	$48,930	$27,000	3rd of 6
36	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 38 graduates a year	$24,521	$45,599	$21,287	1st of 2
37	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 42 graduates a year	$24,253	$35,357	$26,000	3rd of 12
38	SociologyAbout 25 graduates a year	$23,374	$48,855	$23,250	13th of 14
39	TheatreAbout 30 graduates a year	$21,824	$35,165	$26,000	3rd of 10
40	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 18 graduates a year	$19,125	$25,455	$25,000	3rd of 3
41	DieteticsAbout 13 graduates a year	$17,970	$43,962	$24,905	3rd of 3

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

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Electrical Engineering$69,067
Nursing$68,774
Electrical Engineering Technology$67,003
Construction Engineering Technology$63,401
Engineering$62,244

Lowest median debt

Public Administration$18,375
Communications$18,500
Accounting$20,000
Special Education$20,485
Chemistry$20,824

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 253 graduates a year
NursingAbout 238 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 169 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 156 graduates a year
MarketingAbout 152 graduates a year

Common questions

Electrical Engineering graduates earn a median of $69,067 in their first year, the most of 41 Western Carolina University 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 North Carolina 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