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

Area Studies graduates leave with a median of $15,655 in federal loans, the lowest among 49 Western Washington University bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Western Washington University cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $9,582 a year, and $28,707 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $21,193 a year.

How many Western Washington University programs report graduate pay?

52 bachelor's programs and one certificate program at Western Washington University report first-year pay, and 49 of them also report federal debt.

Western Washington University Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public university
Bellingham, WA
13,544 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

52 Western Washington University bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($80,808), and Music the least ($15,834). The median program pays $34,119. Western Washington University also has one certificate program that reports pay.

In-state tuition and fees$9,582Per year. Out-of-state $28,707

Average net price after aid$21,193Per year

Graduation rate65%Within 6 years

Admission rate93%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	NursingAbout 21 graduates a year	$80,808	$98,502	$20,146	14th of 15
2	Electrical EngineeringGraduates a year not reported	$77,516	Not reported	$25,500	6th of 7
3	Information TechnologyAbout 26 graduates a year	$72,675	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 2
4	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 128 graduates a year	$68,219	$129,264	$19,333	3rd of 6
5	Manufacturing EngineeringAbout 25 graduates a year	$65,863	Not reported	$21,425	1st of 1
6	Management Information SystemsAbout 41 graduates a year	$61,668	$87,563	$22,333	1st of 3
7	Polymer and Plastics EngineeringAbout 21 graduates a year	$60,375	Not reported	$21,656	1st of 1
8	AccountingAbout 54 graduates a year	$60,048	$76,780	$20,567	5th of 8
9	Business AdministrationAbout 99 graduates a year	$53,402	$80,761	$17,375	4th of 18
10	Teacher EducationAbout 43 graduates a year	$53,133	$68,556	$22,000	4th of 14
11	Special EducationAbout 102 graduates a year	$52,912	$66,702	$29,284	1st of 2
12	FinanceAbout 47 graduates a year	$51,984	$75,026	$20,610	4th of 5
13	ChemistryAbout 44 graduates a year	$48,527	$77,595	$22,104	1st of 4
14	Mental Health and Addiction ServicesGraduates a year not reported	$46,770	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
15	EconomicsAbout 48 graduates a year	$45,401	$74,441	$19,000	6th of 11
16	MarketingAbout 115 graduates a year	$43,375	$70,846	$17,498	4th of 6
17	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 61 graduates a year	$42,795	$65,749	$26,000	4th of 5
18	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 41 graduates a year	$42,025	$55,230	$20,942	2nd of 3
19	Sustainability StudiesAbout 30 graduates a year	$41,600	Not reported	$19,086	1st of 1
20	Human ServicesAbout 94 graduates a year	$39,487	$49,357	$20,041	1st of 2
21	Cell Biology and AnatomyAbout 39 graduates a year	$39,225	$58,814	$19,500	2nd of 3
22	NeuroscienceAbout 47 graduates a year	$39,011	Not reported	$22,000	1st of 3
23	International BusinessAbout 27 graduates a year	$38,412	$65,149	$22,250	3rd of 3
24	Geology and Earth ScienceAbout 41 graduates a year	$36,802	$56,680	$26,158	1st of 3
25	CommunicationsAbout 86 graduates a year	$34,857	$56,134	$17,875	8th of 11
26	Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 58 graduates a year	$34,119	$48,524	$24,055	3rd of 3
26	JournalismAbout 48 graduates a year	$34,119	$52,942	$18,075	3rd of 4
28	BiologyAbout 47 graduates a year	$33,871	$55,778	$17,003	6th of 12
29	Ecology and EvolutionAbout 18 graduates a year	$33,323	Not reported	$23,040	1st of 2
30	Area StudiesAbout 9 graduates a year	$33,103	$40,794	$15,655	2nd of 3
31	SociologyAbout 106 graduates a year	$33,039	$48,943	$20,087	6th of 8
32	EnglishAbout 84 graduates a year	$32,334	$48,283	$19,500	3rd of 9
33	PsychologyAbout 240 graduates a year	$32,306	$55,357	$19,449	10th of 14
34	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 57 graduates a year	$31,078	$64,470	$20,000	5th of 7
35	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 207 graduates a year	$30,899	$54,496	$20,854	3rd of 6
36	GeographyAbout 7 graduates a year	$29,931	$54,097	$21,500	2nd of 3
37	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 40 graduates a year	$29,268	$44,144	$19,487	5th of 7
38	Pre-Health StudiesAbout 77 graduates a year	$29,238	$55,447	$17,854	1st of 1
39	AnthropologyAbout 49 graduates a year	$27,851	$46,798	$22,000	2nd of 4
40	Parks and RecreationAbout 43 graduates a year	$27,558	$42,232	$17,897	1st of 1
41	Political ScienceAbout 90 graduates a year	$27,217	$56,069	$19,431	11th of 12
42	Writing and RhetoricAbout 115 graduates a year	$27,116	$38,281	$18,064	4th of 5
43	Romance LanguagesAbout 40 graduates a year	$26,557	$59,430	$19,121	5th of 7
44	HistoryAbout 87 graduates a year	$25,355	$45,193	$17,860	6th of 6
45	TheatreAbout 47 graduates a year	$24,258	$32,409	$20,500	3rd of 5
46	Linguistics and Language StudiesAbout 33 graduates a year	$24,232	$41,342	$19,899	1st of 1
47	ArchaeologyAbout 19 graduates a year	$24,061	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
48	Other Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 128 graduates a year	$23,213	$45,064	$19,500	2nd of 3
49	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 67 graduates a year	$23,102	$41,889	$21,246	6th of 6
50	MathematicsAbout 16 graduates a year	$22,953	$77,518	$21,498	5th of 5
51	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 38 graduates a year	$19,512	$61,869	$17,500	3rd of 3
52	MusicAbout 29 graduates a year	$15,834	$39,419	$20,055	6th of 6

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.

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

One certificate program

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

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Washington
GeographyAbout 18 graduates a year	$34,230	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1

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

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$80,808
Electrical Engineering$77,516
Information Technology$72,675
Computer and Information Science$68,219
Manufacturing Engineering$65,863

Lowest median debt

Area Studies$15,655
Biology$17,003
Business Administration$17,375
Marketing$17,498
Communication Sciences and Disorders$17,500

Largest programs

PsychologyAbout 240 graduates a year
Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 207 graduates a year
Computer and Information ScienceAbout 128 graduates a year
Other Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 128 graduates a year
MarketingAbout 115 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $80,808 in their first year, the most of 52 Western Washington 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 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