---
title: Is an Animal Sciences degree worth the debt?
cip: 0109
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is an Animal Sciences degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **82** colleges (82 of 82 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $28,976 ($29,105 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $20,722 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.69× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $25,907–$32,950 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Associate's | $27,907 | $12,000 | 0.38× | 5 | 5/5 |
| Bachelor's | $28,976 | $20,722 | 0.69× | 82 | 82/82 |
| Master's | $68,147 | — | — | 3 | 3/3 |

## Where an Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| South Dakota State University (SD) | $40,797 | $21,349 |
| University of Minnesota-Crookston (MN) | $39,654 | $21,500 |
| University of Wisconsin-Platteville (WI) | $38,120 | $18,748 |
| Auburn University (AL) | $37,905 | $19,500 |
| California State University-Fresno (CA) | $35,992 | $17,500 |
| The University of Findlay (OH) | $35,940 | $26,000 |
| Colorado State University-Fort Collins (CO) | $35,832 | $21,500 |
| Iowa State University (IA) | $35,828 | $20,500 |
| University of Wisconsin-River Falls (WI) | $35,523 | $21,224 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI) | $35,454 | $25,000 |
| University of Maryland-College Park (MD) | $35,248 | $21,500 |
| Northwest Missouri State University (MO) | $35,068 | $18,089 |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus (OH) | $34,236 | $21,500 |
| Michigan State University (MI) | $34,232 | $25,023 |
| Angelo State University (TX) | $34,118 | $18,625 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/animal-sciences.jsonld` · `/education/fields/animal-sciences.json`