Quad
Worcester State UniversityWorcester, MA · Public

Academics

Majors and faculty

The most popular major is Business Administration and Management, General (20% of graduates). 16 students for every faculty member, more than at 72% of colleges. 47% of faculty are full-time. Spends $9,709 a year on instruction per student.

Most popular majors

789 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates

The top 5 programs account for 53% of graduates; 31 programs in 17 fields awarded at least one.

  1. Business Administration and Management, General 52.020120% 154
    Graduates in this field earn $66,405 4 years out
  2. Psychology, General 42.010112% 96
    Graduates in this field earn $57,244 4 years out
  3. Criminal Justice and Corrections, General 43.01008.5% 67
    Graduates in this field earn $65,588 4 years out
  4. Public Health, General 51.22016.8% 54
  5. Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 51.38015.8% 46
    Graduates in this field earn $92,133 4 years out

Fastest-growing field: Computer science, 1.7% → 5.2% of graduates since 2014–15 (41 graduates in 2024–25).

Source:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2014–15 to 2024–25About the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)

Bachelor's degrees awarded July through June, by federal program name (), which can differ from what the college calls a major. A double major counts once, under the ; its other field is a . Earnings are College Scorecard's median for graduates of the program's broader field (), 4 years after completion; see Top-earning majors below.

Top-earning majors here

By earnings 4 years after completion

  1. Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$92,133 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $75,249

    4 years after completion$92,133
    National median: $88,910About typical

    4 years out, Pell: $85,574 · Non-Pell: $78,075(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $19,500 · 133 graduates, two most recent years combined

  2. Computer and Information Sciences, General$92,068 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $54,477

    4 years after completion$92,068
    National median: $92,374About typical

    4 years out, Pell: $58,999 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $20,500 · 69 graduates, two most recent years combined

  3. Biotechnology$90,565 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $70,124

    4 years after completion$90,565
    National median: $67,097Above typical

    Median federal debt: $17,455 · 31 graduates, two most recent years combined

  4. Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions$74,386 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: Too few graduates to report

    4 years after completion$74,386
    National median: $55,792Above typical

    Median federal debt: $25,000 · 43 graduates, two most recent years combined

  5. Biology, General$68,459 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $44,450

    4 years after completion$68,459
    National median: $57,214Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: $56,747 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $21,043 · 134 graduates, two most recent years combined

Bachelor's programs only, among graduates who received federal financial aid and were working (not enrolled in school) in the measurement year.

Students per faculty member vs. every college16 to 1
16 to 1
← Fewer students per facultymore students per faculty member than 72% of 1,892More students per faculty →

The college also reports 15 to 1 in its Common Data Set (4,096 students, 270 faculty).

Not the average class size: faculty also teach graduate students and do research, and large lectures can sit alongside small seminars.

Class sizes

39%

of classes have fewer than 20 students

Under 20 students 20 or moreStudents per class section
Undergraduate class sections by number of students
StudentssectionsShare
2–9346%
10–1918333%
20–2926647%
30–397814%
40–4900%
50–9900%
100+00%

This counts class sections, not students: a lecture of 300 is one section, so a student is more likely to sit in a large class than the share of sections suggests. Labs and discussion sections are counted separately and left out here.

Programs & curriculum

  • Accelerated program
  • Cross-registration
  • Distance learning
  • Double major
  • Dual enrollment
  • Domestic exchange program
  • Honors program
  • Independent study
  • Internships
  • Liberal arts/career combination
  • Teacher certification
  • Study abroad

Requires coursework in arts, English composition, history, humanities, math, a natural science, and social science.

Full-time faculty47%
National median: 67%Below typical
Average faculty salary

$92,773

9-month equated, all ranks combined. Pay tracks local cost of living as much as a college's generosity.

Spending and endowment

Fiscal 2023–24. Compared only against other public colleges: public and private colleges report finances on different accounting forms that aren't comparable. Many public universities' endowments sit mostly in a separate foundation this survey doesn't count, so this likely understates what's actually available.

Instruction spending per student$9,709
$9,709
← Lessmore than 40% of 557More →
Endowment per student$5,627
$5,627
← Lessmore than 21% of 537More →

Sources:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard Field of Study data, most recent release;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Salaries survey (SAL, instructional staff, all ranks), Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;IPEDS Finance survey, derived per-student figures, 2023–24;Worcester State University Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2025;Worcester State University Common Data Set 2025–26, 2025–26;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)