Which Western Kentucky University bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Economics and Finance graduates leave with a median of $19,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 39 Western Kentucky University bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Western Kentucky University cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $11,652 a year, and $27,000 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $10,990 a year.

How many Western Kentucky University programs report graduate pay?

45 bachelor's programs and one associate's program at Western Kentucky University report first-year pay, and 40 of them also report federal debt.

Western Kentucky University Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public university
Bowling Green, KY
12,155 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

45 Western Kentucky University bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Electrical Engineering pays the most in the first year ($74,205), and Anthropology the least ($19,495). The median program pays $36,830. Western Kentucky University also has one associate's program that reports pay.

In-state tuition and fees$11,652Per year. Out-of-state $27,000

Average net price after aid$10,990Per year

Graduation rate56%Within 6 years

Admission rate94%Of applicants

All 45 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Kentucky" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Kentucky. 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 Kentucky
1	Electrical EngineeringAbout 16 graduates a year	$74,205	$91,315	Not reported	3rd of 3
2	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 33 graduates a year	$70,722	$77,336	$27,000	2nd of 3
3	NursingAbout 169 graduates a year	$68,294	$75,333	$26,330	15th of 19
4	Management Information SystemsAbout 1 graduates a year	$64,252	$60,202	Not reported	3rd of 5
5	Construction Engineering TechnologyGraduates a year not reported	$63,013	$89,806	$29,000	1st of 1
6	Industrial TechnologyAbout 39 graduates a year	$60,675	$72,873	Not reported	2nd of 2
7	Civil EngineeringAbout 25 graduates a year	$60,086	$69,462	$22,100	3rd of 3
8	EconomicsAbout 23 graduates a year	$53,857	$54,462	$19,500	1st of 3
9	AccountingAbout 56 graduates a year	$50,104	$71,617	$25,000	6th of 11
10	Management ScienceGraduates a year not reported	$49,823	Not reported	$21,500	1st of 1
11	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 53 graduates a year	$48,863	$62,798	$27,000	5th of 8
12	Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 32 graduates a year	$47,974	$43,019	$23,199	2nd of 2
13	Architectural TechnologyAbout 21 graduates a year	$46,919	$61,001	$26,823	1st of 1
14	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 50 graduates a year	$44,516	$51,696	$27,000	2nd of 3
15	Business AdministrationAbout 182 graduates a year	$44,498	$55,804	$25,320	5th of 14
16	FinanceAbout 66 graduates a year	$44,355	$66,693	$19,500	4th of 7
17	MarketingAbout 86 graduates a year	$42,478	$58,688	$23,250	5th of 7
18	Health SciencesAbout 49 graduates a year	$42,045	$55,237	$25,000	2nd of 4
19	Special EducationAbout 28 graduates a year	$38,807	Not reported	$27,000	4th of 7
20	AgricultureAbout 66 graduates a year	$38,804	$45,055	$23,656	1st of 3
21	Social SciencesAbout 24 graduates a year	$38,659	$46,608	Not reported	1st of 1
22	Teacher EducationAbout 131 graduates a year	$37,288	$40,660	$25,000	10th of 15
23	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 27 graduates a year	$36,830	$41,362	$30,375	2nd of 7
24	Apparel and TextilesAbout 45 graduates a year	$36,635	$39,614	$27,000	1st of 2
25	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 151 graduates a year	$35,746	$40,352	$28,892	4th of 8
26	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 68 graduates a year	$35,534	$49,056	$25,000	4th of 6
27	JournalismAbout 49 graduates a year	$35,050	$43,572	$25,500	2nd of 3
28	MusicAbout 30 graduates a year	$34,766	$43,735	$24,317	1st of 7
29	Social WorkAbout 72 graduates a year	$34,748	$40,739	$26,000	7th of 9
30	CommunicationsAbout 25 graduates a year	$33,955	$45,754	$23,500	7th of 11
31	SociologyAbout 37 graduates a year	$32,762	$41,047	$26,529	4th of 4
32	CriminologyAbout 80 graduates a year	$32,370	Not reported	$26,000	1st of 1
33	Recreation ManagementAbout 7 graduates a year	$32,267	$40,705	$26,000	1st of 2
34	BiologyAbout 66 graduates a year	$29,945	$57,509	$22,500	3rd of 12
35	Hospitality ManagementAbout 30 graduates a year	$29,492	$44,211	$24,883	1st of 2
36	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 45 graduates a year	$28,291	$34,236	$27,000	3rd of 8
37	EnglishAbout 33 graduates a year	$27,950	$38,385	$23,232	4th of 8
38	HistoryAbout 24 graduates a year	$27,177	$44,446	$22,965	5th of 6
39	PsychologyAbout 122 graduates a year	$25,936	$41,167	$24,846	12th of 14
40	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 123 graduates a year	$25,858	$49,122	$24,593	8th of 8
41	Romance LanguagesAbout 21 graduates a year	$24,967	$41,409	Not reported	1st of 2
42	Political ScienceAbout 34 graduates a year	$23,294	$52,865	$20,500	5th of 5
43	TheatreAbout 21 graduates a year	$22,884	Not reported	$21,821	1st of 3
44	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 5 graduates a year	$21,377	$40,617	$28,794	5th of 5
45	AnthropologyAbout 10 graduates a year	$19,495	$40,621	Not reported	3rd of 3

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

One associate's program

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

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Kentucky
NursingAbout 96 graduates a year	$64,845	$66,983	$21,000	13th of 26

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

Electrical Engineering$74,205
Mechanical Engineering$70,722
Nursing$68,294
Management Information Systems$64,252
Construction Engineering Technology$63,013

Lowest median debt

Economics$19,500
Finance$19,500
Political Science$20,500
Management Science$21,500
Theatre$21,821

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 182 graduates a year
NursingAbout 169 graduates a year
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 151 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 131 graduates a year
Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 123 graduates a year

Common questions

Electrical Engineering graduates earn a median of $74,205 in their first year, the most of 45 Western Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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