Doctoral · Iowa City, Iowa

Is Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at University of Iowa 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 fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $136,218; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $142,113; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $88,550; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $94k (likely $94k – $94k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $78k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in IA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.2 years (likely 1.8–2.8); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $270k (likely $96k – $436k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.07M (likely $745k – $1.41M); Today's dollars
Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in: ≤ 20% / ≤ 20%; NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20

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