Georgia Southern University

Georgia Southern University's published cost of attendance is $24,430, but need-based aid reshapes that figure meaningfully across income levels. Low-income families pay approximately $12,162 per year in net price, middle-income families see annual costs around $14,965, and higher-income families pay approximately $19,789.

Azimuth ranks Georgia Southern University #402 for post-graduation affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Net prices by income band are medians within those bands; individual aid packages vary, so some families in each band pay more and some less than the figures shown.

Georgia Southern participates in federal, state, and institutional aid programs, and Georgia residents may benefit from the HOPE Scholarship, which can substantially reduce out-of-pocket costs for qualifying students. The gap between sticker price and what most families actually pay reflects the university's public-tuition structure and its access to state grant funding — a dynamic worth understanding before drawing conclusions from the published cost of attendance alone.

Families seeking a fuller picture of how aid interacts with net price can explore the [net price illusion](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/). Median federal student loan debt at graduation is $23,250, and families using Parent PLUS borrow a median of $16,000; private or institutional loans may add further borrowing that falls outside these federal-only figures — see the [Parent PLUS risk framework](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) for how household context shapes PLUS decisions.

For a graduate at the institution's median four-year earnings of $62,342, median federal debt of $23,250 projects to a monthly payment of about $263 under standard ten-year repayment. For personalized projections across earnings scenarios — including Parent PLUS planning — use [Azimuth's Financial GPS tool](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/).

Graduates of Georgia Southern University earn median 4-year earnings of $62,342, placing Georgia Southern University in the 57.5 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $38 more than similar students at comparable institutions, placing the institution in the 58.5 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Azimuth ranks Georgia Southern University #710 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Program outcomes vary by major.

Business Administration, Management and Operations reports 309 graduates and median 4-year earnings of $74,726, ranked #104 nationally in its major. Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing reports 294 graduates and median 4-year earnings of $79,988, ranked #238 nationally in its major.

Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness reports 252 graduates and median 4-year earnings of $55,330, ranked #91 nationally in its major. Psychology, General reports 239 graduates and median 4-year earnings of $48,180, ranked #222 nationally in its major.

Georgia Southern University's program mix is anchored in Business, which accounts for 18% of graduates, followed by Engineering at 7% and Social Sciences at 7%. Business Administration is the largest program, graduating 309 students annually, followed by Nursing with 294 graduates and Kinesiology with 252 graduates.

The [supply-demand map for college graduates](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) provides broader context for how these fields align with national hiring trends. The strongest earnings come from health-related programs.

Azimuth ranks Mechanical Engineering #154 nationally for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 157 graduates earning $87,731. Azimuth ranks Nursing #172 nationally for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 294 graduates earning $79,988.

On the business side, Azimuth ranks Business Administration #55 nationally for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning $74,726 — a solid applied-business outcome that reflects the program's scale and employer connections across Georgia. [How Azimuth evaluates programs](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) explains the ranking methodology behind these figures. Nursing and health programs at Georgia Southern University are high-mobility pathways where graduates enter the workforce directly and four-year earnings reflect actual labor-market outcomes.

Psychology, General, graduating 239 students with median earnings of $48,180, and Teacher Education, graduating 221 students with median earnings of $47,109, represent larger cohorts where early-career pay is more moderate but employment stability tends to be strong. Across 57 programs serving roughly 4,127 students annually, the institution's earnings profile is shaped most by its health and business concentrations, which together account for the majority of high-earning graduates.