Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Indiana University-Indianapolis

Indiana University-Indianapolis's nursing program presents a concerning picture that should give parents pause. While graduates start with decent earnings of $68,136, this program ranks in just the 17th percentile nationally and 40th percentile within Indiana—meaning most nursing programs elsewhere produce better outcomes. More troubling, earnings actually decline by 7% over four years to $63,614, creating an unusual "early peak" pattern that's rare in healthcare fields.

The debt load of $28,408 isn't excessive compared to national averages, resulting in a manageable 0.42 debt-to-earnings ratio. However, when you're earning $5,000+ less than the typical nursing graduate nationally and $3,000+ less than the Indiana average, that debt takes longer to pay off. The program's middling performance within Indiana is particularly noteworthy given that students could attend higher-performing in-state alternatives like Chamberlain University-Indiana ($83,188) or Purdue Northwest ($77,691) for similar tuition costs.

Despite IU-Indianapolis's solid reputation and the robust sample size giving confidence in these numbers, this nursing program significantly underperforms expectations. Given the strong job market for nurses and the availability of better-performing programs within Indiana, parents should seriously consider other options before committing to this program.