Civil Engineering at University of Washington-Tacoma Campus

At $73,357 in first-year earnings, UW Tacoma's civil engineering program produces outcomes that exceed the national median by roughly $4,000 and land right at Washington's state median. The estimated debt of $23,825—derived from national patterns across similar university programs—translates to a 0.32 debt-to-earnings ratio, meaning graduates would need about four months of gross income to cover what they borrowed. That's a manageable load for an engineering degree, especially given that 40% of students here receive Pell grants, suggesting the program serves economically diverse students effectively.

The program holds its own against Washington's more established engineering schools. While it trails WSU by about $1,500 and matches UW Seattle's outcomes, it outperforms both Seattle University and Saint Martin's. For a campus with an 83% admission rate, these earnings suggest the program delivers genuine technical preparation that the market recognizes. Civil engineering salaries tend to be stable rather than explosive, but the field offers steady employment and clear career progression—the kind of foundation that justifies the investment here. Your child would enter the workforce with debt well below what most engineering graduates carry and earnings that put them in the profession's upper tier nationally.