-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Murray State University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.2% → 0.0%).
Kentucky · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Murray State University
Murray, Kentucky. 6,646 undergraduate students. 144 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Murray State University
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
+30%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at Murray State University rose 30% between 2021 and 2024 (37.4% → 48.7%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Kentucky
Each tile compares this institution to the Kentucky median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$44,737+16% · 6→10y
Kentucky median $37,114$38,473
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry59.5%+57% · '97→'24
Kentucky median 49.7%$15,000+312% · '97→'20
At program completion6,646-2% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS76.1%+5% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time86.2%-8% · '01→'24
latest cohort$9,708+287% · '00→'24
out-of-state $19,452SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
4.5%Median federal debt $15,000 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $44,737 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+57%
Murray State University · completion · 150% rose
39.1% → 61.3%
+353%
Murray State University · completion · 100% rose
10.8% → 48.7%
+287%
Murray State University · in-state tuition rose
$2,556 → $9,900
+187%
Murray State University · out-of-state tuition rose
$6,900 → $19,836
+312%
Murray State University · median debt rose
$4,980 → $20,500
-100%
Murray State University · cohort default rate fell
8.0% → 0.0%
+23%
Murray State University · pell share rose
27.1% → 33.3%
+21%
Murray State University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$34,000 → $41,104
+26%
Murray State University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$30,500 → $38,473
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$206,110Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians.$99,776Information Science/Studies.$89,111Computer Science.$87,954Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians.$85,864Business/Commerce, General.$83,386Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$74,353Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians.$71,522Educational Administration and Supervision.$64,254Finance and Financial Management Services.$56,973Biology, General.$54,903Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.$54,228Criminal Justice and Corrections.$54,066Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$52,954Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$51,419Marketing.$51,087Accounting and Related Services.$50,198Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$49,861Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians.$48,363Community Organization and Advocacy.$47,728Special Education and Teaching.$47,416Business/Commerce, General.$47,257Music.$46,197Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.$45,661
Showing top 24 of 37 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
37 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
EDUCATION · CIP 13
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$39,712Educational Administration and Supervision.$64,254Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$51,419Special Education and Teaching.$39,132Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$49,861Special Education and Teaching.$47,416
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES · CIP 19
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
AGRICULTURE · CIP 01
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Murray State University
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$194,327
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 13
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $9,616
- HS-only baseline · KY
- $33,900
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 01
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in Kentucky
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Murray State University graduates earn $X” — not “Murray State University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Murray State University caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.