Master's · Monmouth, Oregon

Is Special Education and Teaching at Western Oregon University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 11.4 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $67,932; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $70,003; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $38,197; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $40k (likely $40k – $40k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $6k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in OR; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 11.4 years (likely 5.1–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$141k (likely −$215k – −$61k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$93k (likely −$234k – $69k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.