How much money do Ball State University graduates make and which majors earn the most upon graduating? Six years after enrolling, alumni who are working have average earnings of $33,300 per year. After ten years, graduates earn $42,500 on average.
In terms of specific areas of study, the following is a ranking of degree programs by the median first-year starting salaries for BSU graduates.
The undergraduate degree which initially pays the highest is Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods with a median starting salary of $60,900 followed by Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing paying $55,400 and Management Information Systems and Services graduates who have a median starting income of $53,100 .
Looking at post-graduate and doctorate students, those completing the Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degree) program rank first with a median initial income of $89,900 followed by Business/Commerce (Master's Degree) at $69,400 and Information Science/Studies (Master's Degree) who earn $66,800 .
Note about salary data: First year earnings data are aggregated by the US Department of Education and analyzes IRS reported income for Ball State University graduates who received federal financial aid in the form of grants or loans. Not all graduates or fields of study are represented as data for some degree programs are omitted for privacy purposes.
| Major | Earnings |
|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degree) | $89,900 |
| Business/Commerce (Master's Degree) | $69,400 |
| Information Science/Studies (Master's Degree) | $66,800 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor’s Degree) | $60,900 |
| Business/Commerce (Graduate/Professional Certificate) | $56,400 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision (Post-baccalaureate Certificate) | $56,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $55,400 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degree) | $53,200 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degree) | $53,100 |
| Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $53,100 |
| Computer and Information Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $51,900 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor’s Degree) | $50,500 |
| Special Education and Teaching (Graduate/Professional Certificate) | $47,200 |
| Journalism (Master's Degree) | $46,900 |
| Architecture (Master's Degree) | $46,700 |
| Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degree) | $46,400 |
| Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $46,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degree) | $45,300 |
| Landscape Architecture (Bachelor’s Degree) | $45,100 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services (Master's Degree) | $43,800 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degree) | $43,000 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $42,600 |
| Special Education and Teaching (Post-baccalaureate Certificate) | $42,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor’s Degree) | $41,600 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degree) | $40,800 |
| Special Education and Teaching (Bachelor’s Degree) | $39,700 |
| Human Resources Management and Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $39,200 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degree) | $37,700 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor’s Degree) | $37,000 |
| Business/Managerial Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,900 |
| Health/Medical Preparatory Programs (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,200 |
| Marketing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,200 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,000 |
| Business/Commerce (Bachelor’s Degree) | $34,800 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor’s Degree) | $34,300 |
| Architecture (Bachelor’s Degree) | $34,200 |
| Journalism (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,100 |
| Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor’s Degree) | $32,400 |
| Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $32,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,800 |
| Geography and Cartography (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,800 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,300 |
| Social Work (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,300 |
| Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,200 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences Studies and Humanities (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,000 |
| Music (Bachelor’s Degree) | $30,800 |
| Political Science and Government (Bachelor’s Degree) | $30,600 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degree) | $30,000 |
| History (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,200 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,500 |
| Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,200 |
| Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,300 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,000 |
| Anthropology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $22,200 |
| English Language and Literature (Bachelor’s Degree) | $19,700 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor’s Degree) | $18,300 |
Primary data source, U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=150136 IPEDS survey and College Scorecard data for Ball State University.