Western Michigan University Computer Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Computer Science
- Public university
- Kalamazoo, MI
- About 71 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Western Michigan University computer science graduates earn about what computer science graduates earn nationally, $60,979 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $28,969 in federal loans, more than at 92% of computer science programs in the country. Several Michigan programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Michigan and national columns are the medians across all computer science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Western Michigan University graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Michigan median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan computer science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Michigan medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 54% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $2,070 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $307 a month, or 6.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
91% of graduates (64 of 70) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the Kalamazoo area are about 5% below the national average, so a $60,979 salary here buys what about $64,297 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to computer science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Software Developers
$125,570Median pay in Michigan. 43,460 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 95,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Computer and Information Systems Managers
$163,760Median pay in Michigan. 16,010 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 16% from 2025 to 2035, with about 53,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Data Scientists
$100,590Median pay in Michigan. 7,360 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 35% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Information Security Analysts
$106,230Median pay in Michigan. 3,280 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 21% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
About Western Michigan University
Computer Science ranks 11th of 50 bachelor's programs at Western Michigan University by first-year earnings. The top three are Paper Science and Engineering ($86,401), Electrical Engineering ($76,145), and Nursing ($75,149).
Other computer science bachelor's programs near Kalamazoo
Common questions
The median graduate earns $60,979 one year after graduating and $93,924 five years after. The median across computer science bachelor's programs in Michigan is $67,839.
The median federal loan balance is $28,969, which ranks 6th lowest of 9 computer science bachelor's programs in Michigan. That works out to about $307 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 48% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 34%. Compare the cost with other Michigan programs before deciding.
Most do. 91% (64 of 70) were working in Michigan one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- 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 Michigan comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the computer science program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024