Health and Physical Education/Fitness at Missouri Southern State University

Missouri Southern delivers above-average outcomes for health and physical education graduates, though you'll want to note the small sample size. First-year earnings of $34,465 beat both the national median ($30,554) and sit comfortably in the 76th percentile nationally. Within Missouri, this program lands in the middle of the pack—60th percentile among state programs—but still competes reasonably with larger schools like UCM and Southeast Missouri State.

The debt picture looks manageable at $24,947, with a 0.72 ratio to first-year earnings that means graduates carry about 8.5 months of salary in debt. More encouraging is the 24% earnings bump by year four, reaching $42,716—solid growth for a field that doesn't always see dramatic salary increases. For a regional university with a 97% admission rate serving a substantial Pell-eligible population, these outcomes suggest the program does right by its students.

The caveat: fewer than 30 graduates in the data set means one exceptional (or struggling) cohort could skew these numbers significantly. Still, for families considering Missouri public universities for a PE or fitness career, Missouri Southern appears to deliver reasonable value—especially if in-state tuition keeps the debt load around this level.