Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois · Public

All 74 assessed programs leave graduates out-earning a typical Illinois high-school graduate (about $36,082/yr). Another 66 could not be assessed.

What would this cost you?

My family earns and I expect to take

Family income	Net price per year
Under $30k	$10,126
$30k to $48k	$9,854
$48k to $75k	$12,797
$75k to $110k	$17,612
$110k and up	$21,834
All families (average)	$13,391

Net price is the yearly cost after grants and scholarships, by family income (College Scorecard). It reflects students who received federal aid.

Program earnings vs a high-school graduate

Earnings are measured four years after completion when available. Where four-year earnings are suppressed, one-year earnings are shown and marked 1-year earnings. One-year and four-year figures reflect different career stages and should not be compared as if measured at the same time.

74 of 140 programs could be assessed 53% have an earnings verdict

Programs by earnings versus a typical Illinois high-school graduate.
Program	Degree	Median earnings	vs a high-school grad	Verdict	Median debt	Years to repay	Recent completers
Business Administration	Master's Degree	$119,872	+$83,790	clears the bar	$32,950	0.4 yrs	199
Psychology	Bachelor's Degree	$49,669	+$13,587	clears the bar	$21,375	1.6 yrs	193
Nursing	Bachelor's Degree	$75,557 1-year earnings	+$39,475	clears the bar	$25,000	0.6 yrs	166
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs	Bachelor's Degree	$55,778	+$19,696	clears the bar	$22,500	1.1 yrs	153
Business Administration	Bachelor's Degree	$73,176	+$37,094	clears the bar	$21,000	0.6 yrs	149
Computer Science	Bachelor's Degree	$93,438	+$57,356	clears the bar	$21,004	0.4 yrs	132
Teacher Education (by level)	Bachelor's Degree	$50,385	+$14,303	clears the bar	$24,545	1.7 yrs	127
Marketing	Bachelor's Degree	$76,373	+$40,291	clears the bar	$21,500	0.5 yrs	125
Accounting	Bachelor's Degree	$83,573	+$47,491	clears the bar	$15,342	0.3 yrs	122
Mechanical Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$86,999	+$50,917	clears the bar	$23,125	0.5 yrs	115
Communications and Media	Bachelor's Degree	$55,109	+$19,027	clears the bar	$23,812	1.3 yrs	114
Kinesiology and Physical Education	Bachelor's Degree	$54,207	+$18,125	clears the bar	$25,294	1.4 yrs	106
Law	First Professional Degree	$78,459	+$42,377	clears the bar	$75,688	1.8 yrs	104
Management Science	Bachelor's Degree	$71,040	+$34,958	clears the bar	$20,000	0.6 yrs	94
Teacher Education (by subject)	Master's Degree	$65,145	+$29,063	clears the bar	$24,901	0.9 yrs	90
Fine Arts	Bachelor's Degree	$44,202	+$8,120	clears the bar	$22,500	2.8 yrs	88
Biology	Bachelor's Degree	$52,086	+$16,004	clears the bar	$22,500	1.4 yrs	80
Liberal Arts and General Studies	Bachelor's Degree	$57,697	+$21,615	clears the bar	$25,000	1.2 yrs	75
Human Development and Family Studies	Bachelor's Degree	$49,147	+$13,065	clears the bar	$30,020	2.3 yrs	72
Political Science	Bachelor's Degree	$54,039	+$17,957	clears the bar	$25,500	1.4 yrs	67
Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General	Bachelor's Degree	$81,554	+$45,472	clears the bar	$27,250	0.6 yrs	58
Computer and Information Science	Master's Degree	$72,505 1-year earnings	+$36,423	clears the bar	$24,300	0.7 yrs	52
Special Education	Master's Degree	$62,066	+$25,984	clears the bar	$26,549	1.0 yrs	49
Finance	Bachelor's Degree	$86,511	+$50,429	clears the bar	$15,250	0.3 yrs	48
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology	Bachelor's Degree	$49,653	+$13,571	clears the bar	$16,500	1.2 yrs	47
History	Bachelor's Degree	$46,086	+$10,004	clears the bar	$22,333	2.2 yrs	46
Mental Health and Counseling Services	Bachelor's Degree	$55,586	+$19,504	clears the bar	$27,787	1.4 yrs	45
Sociology	Bachelor's Degree	$58,023	+$21,941	clears the bar	$27,000	1.2 yrs	44
School Counseling	Master's Degree	$59,834	+$23,752	clears the bar	$50,098	2.1 yrs	43
English	Bachelor's Degree	$47,981	+$11,899	clears the bar	$22,500	1.9 yrs	43
Educational Administration	Master's Degree	$72,883	+$36,801	clears the bar	$28,097	0.8 yrs	41
Special Education	Bachelor's Degree	$53,148	+$17,066	clears the bar	$21,029	1.2 yrs	40
Mechanical Engineering	Master's Degree	$107,338	+$71,256	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	38
Teacher Education (by subject)	Bachelor's Degree	$53,672	+$17,590	clears the bar	$22,500	1.3 yrs	37
Music	Bachelor's Degree	$40,398	+$4,316	clears the bar	$27,250	6.3 yrs	37
Natural Resources and Conservation	Bachelor's Degree	$54,666	+$18,584	clears the bar	$22,250	1.2 yrs	35
Electrical Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$93,962	+$57,880	clears the bar	$22,500	0.4 yrs	35
Theatre	Bachelor's Degree	$36,777	+$695	clears the bar	$27,000	38.8 yrs	34
Public Health	Master's Degree	$74,989	+$38,907	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	34
Public Administration	Master's Degree	$82,907	+$46,825	clears the bar	$30,500	0.7 yrs	33
Nursing	Master's Degree	$120,765	+$84,683	clears the bar	$44,065	0.5 yrs	33
Educational/Instructional Media Design	Master's Degree	$79,429	+$43,347	clears the bar	$23,063	0.5 yrs	30
Chemistry	Bachelor's Degree	$65,611	+$29,529	clears the bar	$22,750	0.8 yrs	30
Mathematics	Bachelor's Degree	$69,856	+$33,774	clears the bar	$23,068	0.7 yrs	29
Kinesiology and Physical Education	Master's Degree	$65,493	+$29,411	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	28
Economics	Bachelor's Degree	$66,760	+$30,678	clears the bar	$24,976	0.8 yrs	28
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	Bachelor's Degree	$55,221	+$19,139	clears the bar	$22,500	1.2 yrs	26
Music	Master's Degree	$41,850	+$5,768	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	24
Education	Master's Degree	$59,110	+$23,028	clears the bar	$30,041	1.3 yrs	23
Industrial Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$82,584	+$46,502	clears the bar	$23,750	0.5 yrs	21
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology	Master's Degree	$63,768	+$27,686	clears the bar	$44,534	1.6 yrs	20
Journalism	Bachelor's Degree	$50,658	+$14,576	clears the bar	$22,625	1.6 yrs	19
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	Bachelor's Degree	$51,151	+$15,069	clears the bar	$20,923	1.4 yrs	19
Medical Laboratory Science	Bachelor's Degree	$76,856	+$40,774	clears the bar	$18,000	0.4 yrs	19
Hospitality Management	Bachelor's Degree	$58,546	+$22,464	clears the bar	$24,000	1.1 yrs	19
Theatre	Master's Degree	$42,708	+$6,626	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	17
Engineering-Related Fields	Master's Degree	$81,686 1-year earnings	+$45,604	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	15
Psychology	Doctoral Degree	$85,719	+$49,637	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	15
English	Master's Degree	$50,510	+$14,428	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	13
Geography and Cartography	Bachelor's Degree	$47,738	+$11,656	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	13
Accounting	Master's Degree	$101,106	+$65,024	clears the bar	$20,500	0.3 yrs	12
Human Services	Bachelor's Degree	$49,514	+$13,432	clears the bar	$27,000	2.0 yrs	11
Fine Arts	Master's Degree	$53,301	+$17,219	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	11
Apparel and Textiles	Bachelor's Degree	$68,636	+$32,554	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Human Development and Family Studies	Master's Degree	$56,678	+$20,596	clears the bar	$32,500	1.6 yrs	9
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	Master's Degree	$66,367	+$30,285	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	9
Anthropology	Bachelor's Degree	$54,890	+$18,808	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Curriculum and Instruction	Doctoral Degree	$117,352	+$81,270	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
Biomedical Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$54,047 1-year earnings	+$17,965	clears the bar	$15,000	0.8 yrs	7
Physics	Bachelor's Degree	$49,198	+$13,116	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
Biology	Master's Degree	$46,541 1-year earnings	+$10,459	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Physical and Occupational Therapy	Master's Degree	$65,500	+$29,418	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Taxation	Master's Degree	$113,734 1-year earnings	+$77,652	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	4
Physical and Occupational Therapy	Doctoral Degree	$80,885	+$44,803	clears the bar	$61,500	1.4 yrs	insufficient data
Management Science	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	129
Educational Administration	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	44
Computer Science	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	37
Marketing	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	35
Physical and Occupational Therapy	First Professional Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	33
Industrial Engineering	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	24
Educational Administration	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	22
Curriculum and Instruction	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	17
Electrical Engineering	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	15
Applied Mathematics	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	13
Geology and Earth Science	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	13
Psychology	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	13
Philosophy	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	12
Statistics	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	11
Music	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	11
Physics	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Philosophy	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	9
Teacher Education (by level)	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Geology and Earth Science	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
School Counseling	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
English	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
Physics	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Sociology	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Nursing	First Professional Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
History	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Chemistry	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	5
Political Science	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	5
Communications and Media	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	4
Biology	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	4
Mathematics	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	4
Mathematics	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	4
Physics	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	4
Counseling Psychology	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	4
Anthropology	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	4
Economics	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	4
Geography and Cartography	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	4
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology	First Professional Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	4
Educational/Instructional Media Design	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	3
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	3
Statistics	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	3
Counseling Psychology	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	3
Economics	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	3
Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	2
Chemistry	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	2
Geology and Earth Science	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	2
Criminology	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	2
Political Science	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	2
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	1
Counseling Psychology	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	1
Geography and Cartography	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	1
History	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	1
Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	0
Teacher Education (by subject)	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	0
Interdisciplinary Studies	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	0
Fine Arts	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	0
Allied Health Diagnostics and Treatment	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	0
Public Health	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	0
Finance	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	0
Engineering, General	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data
Air Force ROTC, Air Science and Operations	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data
Kinesiology and Physical Education	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data
Allied Health Diagnostics and Treatment	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data
Management Information Systems	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Earnings are medians measured four years after completion where available (programs shown with a 1-year figure are marked), compared with the state high-school-graduate benchmark ($36,082/yr). Debt is federal loans only. Suppressed values are shown as insufficient data, never imputed. Figures describe past graduates and are never a promise.