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Programs & majors brief

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# Ball State University Majors & Programs

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/ball-state-university/)[Cost & aid](/school/ball-state-university/cost/)[Outcomes](/school/ball-state-university/outcomes/)[Admissions](/school/ball-state-university/admissions/)Majors[Similar schools](/school/ball-state-university/similar/)

**On this page**+

## Which majors earn the most at Ball State University?

The highest-earning bachelor's program at Ball State University is Construction Management, where completers earn a median of $90,239 four years after completion, alongside 34 degrees awarded. Business/Commerce, a larger program with 174 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $67,141 and an Azimuth national rank of #34.

Radio, Television, and Digital Communication, the largest program with 197 degrees awarded, earns $47,737 but holds a strong Azimuth national rank of #29, the top-ranked program in Indiana. Nursing reaches $76,161 with 159 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #286.

### Major mix · each dot ≈ 1% of completions

Share of reported completions in the bachelor’s programs included here. Each dot represents approximately 1% of those completions. Counts are credentials, not unique students; excluded programs are not zero activity.

-   Business**637 · 19.1%**
-   Communication**427 · 12.8%**
-   Education**353 · 10.6%**
-   Health professions**292 · 8.8%**
-   Visual and performing arts**219 · 6.6%**
-   Other**1,399 · 42.0%**

Find a field

Sort programsLargest programsHighest four-year earningsBest national field rankProgram name

66 of 66 programs shown

Four-year earnings · first six matching programs

**Construction Management 34 degrees awarded**
$90,239

**Management Information Systems and Services 18 degrees awarded**
$78,566

**General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations 14 degrees awarded**
$78,401

**Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods 32 degrees awarded**
$77,774

**Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 159 degrees awarded**
$76,161

**Human Resources Management and Services 34 degrees awarded**
$75,822

Each bar is a field’s median. Program size counts degrees awarded, not unique people or the earnings sample.

Compare all matching programs

Reported bachelor’s programs · earnings, program size and field ranks

| Program | Degrees awarded | 4-yr earnings | Field rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Construction Management | 34 | $90,239 | #24 |
| Management Information Systems and Services small degree count | 18 | $78,566 | — |
| General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations small degree count | 14 | $78,401 | — |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | 32 | $77,774 | #47 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 159 | $76,161 | #286 |
| Human Resources Management and Services | 34 | $75,822 | #23 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 20 | $75,703 | #167 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 68 | $75,559 | #157 |
| Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians | 34 | $71,514 | #8 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 77 | $70,833 | #160 |
| Business/Commerce, General | 174 | $67,141 | #34 |
| Landscape Architecture small degree count | 13 | $65,382 | — |
| Marketing | 97 | $64,895 | #126 |
| Chemistry | 20 | $63,764 | #110 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services | 57 | $61,677 | #45 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions small degree count | 7 | $61,584 | — |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | 84 | $60,686 | #50 |
| Insurance small degree count | 10 | $59,612 | — |
| Political Science and Government | 24 | $58,953 | #220 |
| Legal Professions and Studies, Other | 23 | $57,249 | #4 |
| Health/Medical Preparatory Programs | 27 | $56,078 | #12 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services small degree count | 11 | $55,768 | — |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning small degree count | 9 | $55,663 | — |
| Biology, General | 137 | $55,097 | #246 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 107 | $55,053 | #124 |
| Geography and Cartography small degree count | 19 | $53,992 | — |
| Design and Applied Arts | 32 | $53,514 | #86 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | 122 | $52,997 | #131 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 23 | $51,294 | #100 |
| Special Education and Teaching | 50 | $51,267 | #36 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 61 | $51,186 | #180 |
| History | 34 | $50,838 | #164 |
| Social Work | 54 | $50,321 | #130 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 134 | $50,260 | #85 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | 171 | $49,657 | #119 |
| Journalism | 85 | $49,456 | #81 |
| Psychology, General | 144 | $48,421 | #234 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 169 | $48,344 | #117 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication | 197 | $47,737 | #29 |
| Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations | 22 | $47,584 | #9 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | 35 | $46,269 | #68 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management small degree count | 13 | $44,705 | — |
| Anthropology | 25 | $44,371 | #87 |
| East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics small degree count | 15 | $44,208 | — |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | 74 | $43,082 | #27 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 81 | $42,594 | #104 |
| Sociology | 27 | $38,857 | #252 |
| English Language and Literature, General | 56 | $38,676 | #275 |
| Music | 22 | $37,997 | — |
| Dance small degree count | 10 | $34,518 | — |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 32 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Architecture | 58 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies small degree count | 5 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians small degree count | 13 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Computer Science | 73 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Mathematics small degree count | 9 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Philosophy small degree count | 8 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Religion/Religious Studies small degree count | 6 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology small degree count | 6 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences small degree count | 6 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Physics small degree count | 6 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology | 45 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Economics | 40 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General | 31 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Real Estate small degree count | 16 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations small degree count | 8 | Too few graduates to report | — |

[Program data and definitions](#page-sources) · [How to evaluate program rankings](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/)

## What are the largest programs at Ball State University?

Ten largest programs by degrees awarded

**Radio, Television, and Digital Communication**
197

**Business/Commerce, General**
174

**Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities**
171

**Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods**
169

**Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing**
159

**Psychology, General**
144

**Biology, General**
137

**Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas**
134

**Criminal Justice and Corrections**
122

**Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness**
107

Counts describe degrees awarded in the reporting period, not current enrollment. [Program data and definitions](#page-sources)

## How do Ball State University majors rank nationally?

### National program rankings

1.  Legal Professions and Studies, Other**#4**
2.  Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians**#8**
3.  Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations**#9**
4.  Health/Medical Preparatory Programs**#12**
5.  Human Resources Management and Services**#23**
6.  Construction Management**#24**
7.  Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft**#27**
8.  Radio, Television, and Digital Communication**#29**
9.  Business/Commerce, General**#34**
10.  Special Education and Teaching**#36**
11.  Communication Disorders Sciences and Services**#45**
12.  Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods**#47**
13.  Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication**#50**

Programs ranked in the national top 50, supplemented by the largest ranked programs when needed to show ten. Fewer appear when fewer ranks are reported. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

[How Azimuth compares programs across colleges](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/)

## Further analysis

Outcomes at Ball State University vary sharply by field, and [Azimuth's program ranking](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/)s evaluate four-year earnings among federally aided completers, median debt, and cohort size rather than reputation. The university has 50 programs with published earnings data, 38 of which carry an Azimuth national rank.

The degree mix is broad, with Business accounting for 19.1% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Communication & Journalism at 12.8% and Education at 10.6%. The largest single program, Radio, Television, and Digital Communication, awards 197 degrees a year and ranks #29 nationally within its field, while Business/Commerce awards 174 degrees and ranks #34.

Earnings among the largest programs range from $47,737 in Radio, Television, and Digital Communication to $76,161 in Nursing, which ranks #286 in its field. The highest-earning program overall is Construction Management, at $90,239 four years after completion, though it awards only 34 degrees a year. Across all fields, 8.3% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. [About College Azimuth](/about/).