Buena Vista University
Storm Lake, Iowa · Private, nonprofit
Graduate earnings
15of 16 assessed undergraduate programs
have graduates earning more than a typical Iowa high-school graduate (about $37,130 a year). 1 falls short.
16 of 54 undergraduate programs could be assessed. The other 38: 36 with no earnings published and 2 with nothing reported. 2 verdicts use 1-year earnings, an earlier career stage. The 8 graduate programs are in the table.
Average net price, all families$18,846 a year By family income
What it would cost
Net price is the yearly cost after grants and scholarships, as reported for students who received federal aid.
Average for all families
$18,846 a year
About $75,384 over 4 years, if price and aid stay the same.
This multiplies the reported yearly net price by the years you choose. It is not a quote or a prediction: it leaves out interest, price rises and the chance of taking longer to finish.
Net price for every income band
| Family income | Net price per year |
|---|---|
| Under $30k | $12,901 |
| $30k to $48k | $14,838 |
| $48k to $75k | $18,094 |
| $75k to $110k | $19,571 |
| $110k and up | $24,967 |
| All families (average) | $18,846 |
College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Bands with no figure were not reported by the school.
Program earnings
Median earnings of each program’s graduates against a typical Iowa high-school graduate ($37,130 a year).
20 of 62 programs could be assessed 32% have an earnings verdict
| Program | Degree | Median earnings | vs a high-school grad | Verdict | Median debt | Debt as years of gain | Recent completers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teacher Education (by level) | Bachelor's Degree | $45,573 | +$8,443 | clears the bar | $28,000 | 3.3 yrs | 83 |
| Business Administration | Bachelor's Degree | $58,440 | +$21,310 | clears the bar | $25,000 | 1.2 yrs | 54 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services | Master's Degree | $58,059 | +$20,929 | above HS line | $31,671 | 1.5 yrs | 48 |
| Curriculum and Instruction | Master's Degree | $68,691 | +$31,561 | above HS line | not published | not assessed | 46 |
| Business Administration | Master's Degree | $61,710 | +$24,580 | above HS line | $29,291 | 1.2 yrs | 38 |
| Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $44,755 | +$7,625 | clears the bar | $22,500 | 3.0 yrs | 34 |
| Teacher Education (by subject) | Bachelor's Degree | $48,048 | +$10,918 | clears the bar | $28,900 | 2.6 yrs | 25 |
| Clinical and Counseling Psychology | Master's Degree | $62,389 | +$25,259 | above HS line | $60,404 | 2.4 yrs | 24 |
| Accounting | Bachelor's Degree | $63,454 | +$26,324 | clears the bar | $23,270 | 0.9 yrs | 21 |
| Kinesiology and Physical Education | Bachelor's Degree | $49,281 | +$12,151 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 2.2 yrs | 19 |
| Criminal Justice | Bachelor's Degree | $53,736 | +$16,606 | clears the bar | $20,750 | 1.2 yrs | 19 |
| Finance | Bachelor's Degree | $63,950 | +$26,820 | clears the bar | $20,700 | 0.8 yrs | 16 |
| Marketing | Bachelor's Degree | $55,330 | +$18,200 | clears the bar | $20,931 | 1.2 yrs | 14 |
| Business | Bachelor's Degree | $48,8101-year earnings | +$11,680 | clears the bar (1-yr) | not published | not assessed | 13 |
| Biology | Bachelor's Degree | $30,6821-year earnings | -$6,448 | falls short (1-yr) | $26,918 | no earnings gain | 12 |
| Education | Bachelor's Degree | $50,997 | +$13,867 | clears the bar | $22,189 | 1.6 yrs | 10 |
| Interdisciplinary Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $45,185 | +$8,055 | clears the bar | $23,826 | 3.0 yrs | 3 |
| Liberal Arts and General Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $63,832 | +$26,702 | clears the bar | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations | Bachelor's Degree | $58,540 | +$21,410 | clears the bar | $20,834 | 1.0 yrs | 0 |
| Human Resources | Bachelor's Degree | $56,329 | +$19,199 | clears the bar | $21,833 | 1.1 yrs | 0 |
| Human Services | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 51 |
| Special Education | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 35 |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 18 |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 13 |
| Agricultural Business and Management | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Health/Medical Preparatory Programs | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Computer and Information Science | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Special Education | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Animal Sciences | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Radio, TV and Digital Media | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Public Relations and Advertising | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Social Work | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Communications and Media | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Graphic Communications | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Computer Systems Analysis | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Non-Professional Legal Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Criminology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| English | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Education | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Chemistry | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Design | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Agriculture, General | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Music | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Medical Illustration and Informatics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Soil Sciences | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Education, Other | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Physics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Public Administration | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Political Science | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Theatre | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Fine Arts | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Allied Health Diagnostics and Treatment | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Physical and Occupational Therapy | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Business/Managerial Economics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Bachelor's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Philosophy and Religious Studies, Other | Bachelor's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
Sources and definitions
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid. Debt is federal loans only.
- The high-school line is ED’s state benchmark, $37,130 a year.
- Earnings not published: ED reports the program but no earnings figure, usually because too few graduates were measured. Nothing reported: ED lists the program with no figures at all. Neither is a judgement of the program.
- Debt as years of gain is median federal debt divided by how much more graduates earn per year than a typical high-school graduate. It is not a repayment time.
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