Public Administration at Salish Kootenai College

Salish Kootenai College's Public Administration bachelor's degree carries an estimated $21,000 in debt—notably below the $23,626 national median for similar programs—while pointing toward first-year earnings around $45,278. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.46 means graduates would owe roughly half their first-year salary, a manageable threshold by most standards. With 58% of students receiving Pell grants, this program serves a population where controlling costs matters deeply.

The challenge here is uncertainty. As the only school offering this bachelor's program in Montana, and with too few graduates for the DOE to publish actual outcomes, these figures rest entirely on what similar tribal colleges and public administration programs produce nationally. Your child's actual experience could differ significantly based on Montana's unique public sector landscape and the college's specific curriculum and connections. Public administration careers often benefit from local government networks and internship placements—factors these national estimates can't capture.

For families considering this path, the estimated debt load looks reasonable if the earnings projections hold, but you're making this decision without school-specific data to confirm whether Salish Kootenai's graduates actually achieve these outcomes. If your student has strong ties to Montana's public sector or tribal governance specifically, those connections might matter more than these national projections. Otherwise, you're betting on this program matching peer institutions' results—a leap that requires confidence in the school's placement track record beyond what federal data can verify.