Western Colorado University
Gunnison, Colorado · Public
Graduate earnings
9of 13 assessed undergraduate programs
have graduates earning more than a typical Colorado high-school graduate (about $40,674 a year). 4 fall short.
13 of 29 undergraduate programs could be assessed. The other 16: 15 with no earnings published and 1 with nothing reported. 2 verdicts use 1-year earnings, an earlier career stage. The 9 graduate programs are in the table.
Average net price, all families$16,425 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
$16,425 a year
About $65,700 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 | $11,490 |
| $30k to $48k | $10,868 |
| $48k to $75k | $13,908 |
| $75k to $110k | $16,928 |
| $110k and up | $21,396 |
| All families (average) | $16,425 |
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 Colorado high-school graduate ($40,674 a year).
15 of 38 programs could be assessed 39% have an earnings verdict
| Program | Degree | Median earnings | vs a high-school grad | Verdict | Median debt | Debt as years of gain | Recent completers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration | Bachelor's Degree | $61,876 | +$21,202 | clears the bar | $22,470 | 1.1 yrs | 77 |
| Education | Master's Degree | $57,638 | +$16,964 | above HS line | $22,000 | 1.3 yrs | 50 |
| Biology | Bachelor's Degree | $50,954 | +$10,280 | clears the bar | $17,065 | 1.7 yrs | 43 |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | Master's Degree | $67,308 | +$26,634 | above HS line | $39,488 | 1.5 yrs | 41 |
| Kinesiology and Physical Education | Bachelor's Degree | $40,636 | -$38 | falls short | $23,375 | no earnings gain | 32 |
| Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $47,401 | +$6,727 | clears the bar | $26,000 | 3.9 yrs | 32 |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | Bachelor's Degree | $49,170 | +$8,496 | clears the bar | $19,646 | 2.3 yrs | 24 |
| Fine Arts | Bachelor's Degree | $39,865 | -$809 | falls short | not published | not assessed | 21 |
| Communications and Media | Bachelor's Degree | $47,426 | +$6,752 | clears the bar | $20,750 | 3.1 yrs | 19 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $48,109 | +$7,435 | clears the bar | $14,753 | 2.0 yrs | 17 |
| Sociology | Bachelor's Degree | $57,359 | +$16,685 | clears the bar | not published | not assessed | 16 |
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | $53,4031-year earnings | +$12,729 | clears the bar (1-yr) | not published | not assessed | 12 |
| Political Science | Bachelor's Degree | $30,2721-year earnings | -$10,402 | falls short (1-yr) | $24,000 | no earnings gain | 12 |
| English | Bachelor's Degree | $39,414 | -$1,260 | falls short | not published | not assessed | 10 |
| Accounting | Bachelor's Degree | $63,922 | +$23,248 | clears the bar | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 34 |
| Business Administration | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 23 |
| Computer and Information Science | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 21 |
| Teacher Education (by level) | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 10 |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 9 |
| Special Education | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Geology and Earth Science | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Chemistry | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Geography and Cartography | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Physics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Anthropology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Music | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Public Health | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Liberal Arts and General Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Business/Corporate Communications | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Computer Programming | 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, $40,674 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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