Which Western Colorado University major has the lowest debt?

Parks and Recreation graduates leave with a median of $19,507 in federal loans, the lowest among 7 Western Colorado University bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Western Colorado University cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $11,318 a year, and $24,434 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $16,425 a year.

How many Western Colorado University programs report graduate pay?

10 bachelor's programs at Western Colorado University report first-year pay, and 7 of them also report federal debt.

Western Colorado University Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public university
Gunnison, CO
1,586 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

10 Western Colorado University bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Economics pays the most in the first year ($53,403), and Kinesiology and Exercise Science the least ($21,038). The median program pays $31,312.

In-state tuition and fees$11,318Per year. Out-of-state $24,434

Average net price after aid$16,425Per year

Graduation rate51%Within 6 years

Admission rate100%Of applicants

All 10 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Colorado" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Colorado. 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 Colorado
1	EconomicsAbout 12 graduates a year	$53,403	Not reported	Not reported	3rd of 7
2	AccountingAbout 6 graduates a year	$47,204	$60,215	Not reported	8th of 10
3	SociologyAbout 16 graduates a year	$43,178	$52,935	Not reported	2nd of 10
4	Business AdministrationAbout 77 graduates a year	$41,886	Not reported	$24,000	13th of 13
5	PsychologyAbout 32 graduates a year	$32,352	$50,522	$26,000	8th of 14
6	Political ScienceAbout 12 graduates a year	$30,272	Not reported	$24,000	8th of 8
7	BiologyAbout 43 graduates a year	$29,881	$47,411	$23,973	10th of 11
8	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 24 graduates a year	$26,123	$46,470	$21,612	5th of 7
9	Parks and RecreationAbout 17 graduates a year	$25,903	$31,184	$19,507	2nd of 2
10	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 32 graduates a year	$21,038	$54,285	$25,050	8th of 8

Program names link to the program's own page, and Colorado 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 Colorado programs in the field do too.

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

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Economics$53,403
Accounting$47,204
Sociology$43,178
Business Administration$41,886
Psychology$32,352

Lowest median debt

Parks and Recreation$19,507
Environmental Science and Conservation$21,612
Biology$23,973
Business Administration$24,000
Political Science$24,000

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 77 graduates a year
BiologyAbout 43 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 32 graduates a year
Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 32 graduates a year
Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 24 graduates a year

Common questions

Economics graduates earn a median of $53,403 in their first year, the most of 10 Western Colorado 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 Colorado 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