Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City

OSU-Oklahoma City's nursing program sits squarely in the middle of the pack—ranking below the 40th percentile among Oklahoma nursing programs despite healthy starting salaries around $68,000. That's notably lower than what graduates earn at Rose State ($76,453) or even nearby Oklahoma City Community College ($70,463), both comparable institutions serving similar student populations.

The modest debt load of $21,565 keeps this program viable, translating to a manageable 0.32 debt-to-earnings ratio. But the slight earnings dip from year one to year four (from $68,070 to $66,769) suggests graduates may not be advancing as quickly as those from higher-performing Oklahoma programs. With 15 nursing programs to choose from in Oklahoma, and several community colleges delivering stronger outcomes at similar costs, there's limited financial justification for specifically choosing OSU-OKC.

For parents whose student is already committed to this campus for other reasons—proximity to home, existing family connections, or scheduling needs—the program won't derail their financial future. But if selecting purely based on nursing outcomes, the numbers suggest looking at the state's top-performing community college programs first, where graduates are earning $4,000-$8,000 more annually from the start.