Quad
Wayne State UniversityDetroit, MI · Public

Academics

Majors and faculty

The most popular major is Psychology, General (9% of graduates). 14 students for every faculty member, more than at 58% of colleges. 58% of faculty are full-time. Spends $14,651 a year on instruction per student.

Most popular majors

3,686 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates

The top 5 programs account for 28% of graduates; 88 programs in 26 fields awarded at least one.

  1. Psychology, General 42.01018.8% 325
    Graduates in this field earn $52,435 4 years out
  2. Public Health, General 51.22015.7% 211
    Graduates in this field earn $55,302 4 years out
  3. Computer and Information Sciences, General 11.01014.8% 176
    Graduates in this field earn $104,630 4 years out
  4. Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 51.38014.6% 171
    Graduates in this field earn $84,405 4 years out
  5. Organizational Behavior Studies 52.10034.4% 161
    Graduates in this field earn $61,121 4 years out

Fastest-growing field: Business, 15% → 22% of graduates since 2014–15 (813 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. Biomedical/Medical Engineering$106,048 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: Too few graduates to report

    4 years after completion$106,048
    National median: $93,451Above typical

    Median federal debt: $19,395 · 50 graduates, two most recent years combined

  2. Computer and Information Sciences, General$104,630 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $77,371

    4 years after completion$104,630
    National median: $92,374Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: $98,005 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $18,750 · 321 graduates, two most recent years combined

  3. Industrial Engineering$101,990 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $77,815

    4 years after completion$101,990
    National median: $98,442About typical

    Median federal debt: $21,126 · 27 graduates, two most recent years combined

  4. Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$100,944 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $78,738

    4 years after completion$100,944
    National median: $100,647About typical

    4 years out, Pell: $96,841 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $23,182 · 135 graduates, two most recent years combined

  5. Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services$99,777 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: Too few graduates to report

    4 years after completion$99,777
    National median: $68,559Above typical

    Median federal debt: Too few graduates to report

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 college14 to 1
14 to 1
← Fewer students per facultymore students per faculty member than 58% of 1,892More students per faculty →

The college also reports 16 to 1 in its Common Data Set.

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

Class sizes

31%

of classes have fewer than 20 students; 13% have 50 or more

Under 20 students 20 or moreStudents per class section
Undergraduate class sections by number of students
StudentssectionsShare
2–91289%
10–1929221%
20–2944733%
30–3922516%
40–49957%
50–991299%
100+524%

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
  • Distance learning
  • Double major
  • Dual enrollment
  • English as a Second Language
  • Honors program
  • Independent study
  • Teacher certification
  • Study abroad
  • Undergraduate research

Requires coursework in English composition, a foreign language, history, humanities, math, philosophy, a natural science, and social science.

Full-time faculty58%
National median: 67%Below typical
Average faculty salary

$110,333

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$14,651
$14,651
← Lessmore than 76% of 557More →
Endowment per student$25,585
$25,585
← Lessmore than 75% 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;Wayne State University Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2025;Wayne 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)