Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions at Eastern Washington University

Eastern Washington University's rehabilitation therapy program delivers earnings nearly $12,000 above the national median—impressive on paper, but that 60th percentile ranking within Washington reveals important context. With only three schools offering this program in the state, your child isn't competing against a large field, and other Washington programs are achieving similar or better outcomes. The small sample size (under 30 graduates) means a few high earners could be skewing these figures considerably.

The debt picture is reasonable at $25,326, creating a manageable 0.53 debt-to-earnings ratio that most graduates should be able to handle. However, the first-year salary of $47,541 is modest for a bachelor's degree requiring four years of study and significant student debt. For a field that often requires additional credentials or graduate work to advance—many rehabilitation professionals need master's degrees for licensure—this starting point matters.

If your child is committed to rehabilitation therapy specifically, this program appears financially viable, particularly compared to national alternatives. But given the small cohort size and the program's middle-of-the-pack performance within Washington, verify what's actually included in this degree classification. Some "rehabilitation professions" track directly to stable careers, while others serve mainly as stepping stones to graduate school. Understanding which path this program typically leads to will determine whether these numbers represent a launching point or a ceiling.