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San Diego State majors and salaries
San Diego State University · San Diego, California · Public · 35,377 undergraduates
Business Administration, Management and Operations awards the most degrees here (4,172 over two years), and it also pays above most other programs: $69,902 four years out. Fine and Studio Arts graduates earned the least four years out, a median of $35,416; the top program pays 3.4 times as much. University of Georgia, University of Washington, UC Davis, University of Illinois Urbana, Champaign, UC Irvine and University of California, San Diego all report higher median earnings ten years after enrollment than San Diego State, their closest match by size and selectivity.
Highest-paying bachelor's programs
Every program with earnings data
| Program | Graduates (2 yrs) | Median debt | Pay after 1 yr | Pay after 4 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 395 | $15,000 | $111,312 | $120,799 |
| Computer Engineering | 192 | $21,498 | $79,102 | $116,842 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | 202 | $12,600 | $81,083 | $106,416 |
| Computer Science | 427 | $13,000 | $78,290 | $100,586 |
| Construction Engineering Technology/Technician | 33 | – | $89,358 | $100,564 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering | 216 | $18,000 | $72,773 | $100,139 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 445 | $15,000 | $77,287 | $97,825 |
| Civil Engineering | 286 | $16,421 | $74,131 | $95,865 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering | 66 | $15,000 | $71,143 | $88,417 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | – | $13,222 | $59,206 | $88,136 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | – | $15,000 | $58,349 | $86,613 |
| Statistics | 63 | $14,870 | $55,412 | $83,076 |
| Marketing | – | $15,000 | $54,304 | $81,368 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology | 57 | – | $46,281 | $81,122 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 0 | $14,010 | $68,710 | $80,011 |
| Chemistry | 138 | $19,405 | $63,412 | $74,676 |
| Economics | 400 | $14,000 | $49,742 | $74,123 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences | 14 | – | $59,614 | $73,647 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General | 0 | – | – | $73,095 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management | 115 | $18,750 | $51,837 | $70,113 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 4,172 | $14,946 | $56,205 | $69,902 |
| Applied Mathematics | 59 | $13,798 | $42,055 | $69,606 |
| International Business | 206 | $15,000 | $52,339 | $69,141 |
| Biology, General | 528 | $13,812 | $43,128 | $68,861 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | 71 | $13,100 | $48,750 | $67,414 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services | 0 | – | – | $66,649 |
| Political Science and Government | 304 | $13,000 | $43,429 | $64,824 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services | 299 | $13,250 | $30,611 | $61,510 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 564 | $14,000 | $44,976 | $61,389 |
| Public Health | 339 | $16,066 | $40,070 | $60,904 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 760 | $13,781 | $32,896 | $59,914 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies | 83 | $19,709 | $39,660 | $59,733 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | 495 | $13,000 | $33,277 | $58,419 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 204 | $14,875 | $40,513 | $58,215 |
| Geography and Cartography | 85 | $14,147 | – | $58,004 |
| Mathematics | 54 | – | – | $57,999 |
| History | 171 | $13,000 | $40,549 | $57,861 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | 962 | $12,500 | $40,445 | $57,510 |
| Public Administration | 109 | $15,750 | $44,736 | $57,264 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies | 32 | – | $46,097 | $57,093 |
| Social Work | 203 | $11,000 | $42,357 | $56,674 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | 82 | $16,700 | $35,158 | $55,230 |
| Nutrition Sciences | 144 | $13,249 | $34,411 | $55,115 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | 413 | $14,821 | $41,317 | $55,072 |
| Design and Applied Arts | – | $15,000 | $37,926 | $54,569 |
| Journalism | 288 | $15,333 | $43,326 | $53,997 |
| Anthropology | 97 | $13,000 | $40,983 | $53,991 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | 2 | – | – | $53,621 |
| Philosophy | 58 | – | – | $53,390 |
| Sociology | 333 | $12,337 | $37,982 | $53,387 |
| Social Sciences, General | 83 | $13,000 | $38,735 | $52,095 |
| Psychology, General | 1,327 | $13,000 | $33,788 | $51,021 |
| Real Estate | – | – | $50,257 | $50,662 |
| English Language and Literature, General | 234 | $15,000 | $31,796 | $49,406 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 152 | $9,000 | $33,274 | $49,167 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 280 | $14,000 | $36,537 | $48,471 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication | 181 | $15,000 | $31,944 | $43,485 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services | 47 | – | $29,617 | $42,922 |
| Music | 112 | $19,587 | $25,783 | $42,090 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | 98 | $15,000 | $27,400 | $41,812 |
| Urban Studies/Affairs | 42 | – | $38,722 | – |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 539 | $15,000 | $27,669 | $35,416 |
Programs are grouped by four-digit CIP code, so one row can cover several related majors. "Graduates" counts bachelor's degrees awarded across the two years that make up each earnings cohort.
Outcomes
- Six-year graduation rate
- 78% (four-year colleges: 54% median)
- First-year students who return
- 91%
- Students per faculty member
- 27
- Median earnings 10 years after enrolling
- $73,494 (four-year colleges: $58,912 median)
- Median federal debt at graduation
- $14,500 (four-year colleges: $21,609 median)
Colleges similar to San Diego State
The six public four-year colleges closest to San Diego State in acceptance rate and undergraduate enrollment.
| College | Acceptance rate | Avg net price | Earnings after 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Georgia Athens, GA | 38% | $13,636 | $77,246 |
| University of Washington Seattle, WA | 39% | $13,663 | $83,105 |
| UC Davis Davis, CA | 42% | $14,318 | $86,999 |
| University of Illinois Urbana, Champaign Champaign, IL | 42% | $13,042 | $87,599 |
| UC Irvine Irvine, CA | 29% | $13,866 | $83,432 |
| University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA | 27% | $14,794 | $96,197 |
Program earnings and debt come from the College Scorecard field-of-study file: median pay of graduates who were working and not enrolled, one and four years after finishing, for two pooled graduating classes. Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education and do not appear. College Scorecard data updated November 2, 2026. How these figures are built · San Diego State on College Scorecard