Virginia Colleges and Majors, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt
- 866 programs report first-year pay
- 85 schools with program pages
- 46 field rankings
College Scorecard June 2026 release ยท BEA price parities 2024
The short answer
The median Virginia bachelor's program pays its graduates $40,717 in their first year, $676 more than the national median. Of the 33 bachelor's fields ranked in Virginia, computer engineering pays the most ($86,636) and theatre the least ($22,716). The median bachelor's program leaves its graduates with $25,000 in federal debt, compared with $25,000 nationally.
Pay and debt by credential
Medians across every Virginia program at each credential that reports the figure, next to the national median.
Bachelor's fields in Virginia, ranked
Each row is one field's median across its Virginia bachelor's programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.
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.
Associate's fields in Virginia, ranked
Each row is one field's median across its Virginia associate's programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.
Certificate fields in Virginia, ranked
Each row is one field's median across its Virginia certificate programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.
85 Virginia schools
Every Virginia school with at least one program page. School names link to the school's page, which ranks all its programs. Schools with one program link straight to that program.
"Programs" counts the school's programs that report first-year pay.
Common questions
The median computer engineering bachelor's program in Virginia pays its graduates $86,636 in their first year, the most of 33 bachelor's fields ranked here. Electrical engineering is next, at $80,037.
The median bachelor's program in Virginia pays its graduates $40,717 in their first year, the median associate's program $38,214, and the median certificate program $29,983.
The median bachelor's program in Virginia leaves its graduates with $25,000 in federal debt (national $25,000), the median associate's program $15,329 (national $15,186), and the median certificate program $11,250 (national $10,780).
89 Virginia schools report first-year pay for at least one program, 866 programs in all. 85 of them have at least one program with its own page here.
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.
- Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
- 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 Virginia figures when their main campus is in another state.
- Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024