---
title: Is an Architectural Sciences and Technology degree worth the debt?
cip: 0409
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 Architectural Sciences and Technology degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **12** colleges (12 of 12 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $50,472 ($42,682 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $24,125 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.56× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $42,375–$54,291 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $50,472 | $24,125 | 0.56× | 12 | 12/12 |
| Master's | $54,980 | $58,158 | 1.06× | 17 | 17/17 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus (WA) | $74,462 | $18,977 |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst (MA) | $62,664 | $22,250 |
| Cornell University (NY) | $57,023 | $17,315 |
| Art Center College of Design (CA) | $53,380 | — |
| University of Southern California (CA) | $53,003 | $30,500 |
| Syracuse University (NY) | $52,943 | $31,000 |
| New York Institute of Technology (NY) | $48,001 | $27,000 |
| Tuskegee University (AL) | $43,557 | — |
| Savannah College of Art and Design (GA) | $43,117 | $24,500 |
| Western Kentucky University (KY) | $40,150 | $23,750 |
| Temple University (PA) | $39,809 | $26,500 |
| CUNY New York City College of Technology (NY) | $35,555 | $14,692 |

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/architectural-sciences-and-technology.jsonld` · `/education/fields/architectural-sciences-and-technology.json`