Health and Physical Education/Fitness at Sul Ross State University

Sul Ross State University's Health and Physical Education program produces impressive first-year earnings of nearly $40,000—about $7,000 above the state median and crushing the national average by 30%. While it doesn't quite reach the levels of private universities like Rice or SMU, it sits solidly in the middle tier of Texas programs, ahead of established schools like West Texas A&M. The debt load of $27,670 is manageable, translating to a favorable 0.70 debt-to-earnings ratio that's well below concerning thresholds.

The caveat here matters: with fewer than 30 graduates in the dataset, these numbers could shift considerably with a larger sample. That said, the pattern makes sense. Sul Ross serves a high-need student population in remote West Texas, and physical education graduates likely find steady work in the region's school districts, which face chronic teacher shortages. The debt is slightly above Texas norms but reasonable given the earning power.

For families considering this program, the value proposition looks solid on paper. You're getting strong early career earnings without crushing debt at a school with near-open admission. Just recognize that the small sample size means individual outcomes could vary more than at larger programs, and you'll want to confirm that recent graduates are actually landing teaching positions at these salary levels.