Western Washington University Psychology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Psychology, General
- Public university
- Bellingham, WA
- About 240 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Western Washington University psychology graduates earn about what psychology graduates earn nationally, $32,306 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $19,449 in federal loans, less than at 89% of psychology programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying psychology degrees in Washington.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Washington and national columns are the medians across all psychology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Western Washington University graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the Washington median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Washington psychology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Washington 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 71% 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 slightly more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $206 a month, or 7.7% 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. Separately, 66 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $19,689.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
86% of graduates (185 of 214) were working in Washington one year after graduating. Prices in the Bellingham area are about 3% above the national average, so a $32,306 salary here buys what about $31,264 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 psychology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists
$115,240Median pay in Washington. 1,270 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Social Science Research Assistants
$50,420Median pay in Washington. 450 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
$193,950Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 300 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Western Washington University
Psychology ranks 33rd of 52 bachelor's programs at Western Washington University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($80,808), Electrical Engineering ($77,516), and Information Technology ($72,675).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $32,306 one year after graduating and $55,357 five years after. The median across psychology bachelor's programs in Washington is $33,532.
The median federal loan balance is $19,449, which ranks 3rd lowest of 14 psychology bachelor's programs in Washington. That works out to about $206 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 60% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 78%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 5% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Washington programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 86% (185 of 214) were working in Washington 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 Washington 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 psychology 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