Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, Washington · Private, nonprofit
Graduate earnings
20of 22 assessed undergraduate programs
have graduates earning more than a typical Washington high-school graduate (about $40,611 a year). 2 fall short.
22 of 44 undergraduate programs could be assessed. The other 22: 18 with no earnings published and 4 with nothing reported. 4 verdicts use 1-year earnings, an earlier career stage. The 17 graduate programs are in the table.
Average net price, all families$19,589 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
$19,589 a year
About $78,356 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 | $13,609 |
| $30k to $48k | $12,948 |
| $48k to $75k | $15,756 |
| $75k to $110k | $22,535 |
| $110k and up | $26,915 |
| All families (average) | $19,589 |
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 Washington high-school graduate ($40,611 a year).
27 of 61 programs could be assessed 44% have an earnings verdict
| Program | Degree | Median earnings | vs a high-school grad | Verdict | Median debt | Debt as years of gain | Recent completers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing | Bachelor's Degree | $91,528 | +$50,917 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 0.5 yrs | 132 |
| Teacher Education (by level) | Master's Degree | $77,198 | +$36,587 | above HS line | $34,896 | 1.0 yrs | 76 |
| Business Administration | Bachelor's Degree | $75,576 | +$34,965 | clears the bar | $20,750 | 0.6 yrs | 70 |
| Biology | Bachelor's Degree | $53,077 | +$12,466 | clears the bar | $22,500 | 1.8 yrs | 43 |
| Kinesiology and Physical Education | Bachelor's Degree | $52,113 | +$11,502 | clears the bar | $25,000 | 2.2 yrs | 41 |
| Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $55,118 | +$14,507 | clears the bar | $21,969 | 1.5 yrs | 41 |
| Business Administration | Master's Degree | $100,684 | +$60,073 | above HS line | $39,150 | 0.7 yrs | 25 |
| Nursing | Master's Degree | $101,335 | +$60,724 | above HS line | $82,634 | 1.4 yrs | 24 |
| Communications and Media | Bachelor's Degree | $57,317 | +$16,706 | clears the bar | $22,604 | 1.4 yrs | 23 |
| Social Work | Bachelor's Degree | $67,458 | +$26,847 | clears the bar | $21,774 | 0.8 yrs | 18 |
| Sociology | Bachelor's Degree | $59,853 | +$19,242 | clears the bar | $20,825 | 1.1 yrs | 18 |
| Music | Bachelor's Degree | $17,7111-year earnings | -$22,900 | falls short (1-yr) | $26,525 | no earnings gain | 18 |
| Mental Health and Counseling Services | Master's Degree | $58,052 | +$17,441 | above HS line | $72,057 | 4.1 yrs | 17 |
| Theatre | Bachelor's Degree | $44,459 | +$3,848 | clears the bar | $24,125 | 6.3 yrs | 16 |
| Teacher Education (by level) | Bachelor's Degree | $66,848 | +$26,237 | clears the bar | $19,500 | 0.7 yrs | 15 |
| Political Science | Bachelor's Degree | $69,366 | +$28,755 | clears the bar | $20,500 | 0.7 yrs | 15 |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | $43,685 | +$3,074 | clears the bar | not published | not assessed | 15 |
| Chemistry | Bachelor's Degree | $59,993 | +$19,382 | clears the bar | $22,933 | 1.2 yrs | 14 |
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | $43,8061-year earnings | +$3,195 | clears the bar (1-yr) | not published | not assessed | 14 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | $24,7731-year earnings | -$15,838 | falls short (1-yr) | not published | not assessed | 13 |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | $78,056 | +$37,445 | clears the bar | $19,500 | 0.5 yrs | 11 |
| Geology and Earth Science | Bachelor's Degree | $58,472 | +$17,861 | clears the bar | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Fine Arts | Bachelor's Degree | $43,650 | +$3,039 | clears the bar | $20,981 | 6.9 yrs | 11 |
| Teacher Education (by subject) | Bachelor's Degree | $57,6831-year earnings | +$17,072 | clears the bar (1-yr) | $29,740 | 1.7 yrs | 8 |
| Interdisciplinary Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $55,178 | +$14,567 | clears the bar | $20,500 | 1.4 yrs | 5 |
| Computer and Information Science | Bachelor's Degree | $128,703 | +$88,092 | clears the bar | $23,534 | 0.3 yrs | not published |
| Nursing | Doctoral Degree | $104,9321-year earnings | +$64,321 | above HS line (1-yr) | not published | not assessed | not published |
| Computer Science | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 18 |
| Nursing | First Professional Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 17 |
| International/Globalization Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 16 |
| Criminology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 15 |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 14 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 13 |
| Physics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 13 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 12 |
| Anthropology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Management Science | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Religion/Religious Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 10 |
| Kinesiology and Physical Education | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| English | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Nursing | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Area Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Philosophy | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Educational Administration | First Professional Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Applied Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Healthcare Administration | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Healthcare Administration | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Business Administration | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Business Administration | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Accounting | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Education | Bachelor's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Education | Master's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Computer Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Applied Mathematics | Master's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Accounting | Bachelor's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Accounting | Graduate/Professional Certificate | 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, $40,611 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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