---
title: Is an Architecture degree worth the debt?
cip: 0402
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 Architecture degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **77** colleges (77 of 77 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $46,245 ($47,260 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $26,000 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.58× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $39,533–$51,033 — 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 | $46,245 | $26,000 | 0.58× | 77 | 77/77 |
| Master's | $53,395 | $31,166 | 0.70× | 65 | 65/65 |
| Professional | $53,823 | $47,023 | 0.94× | 6 | 6/6 |

## 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 Notre Dame (IN) | $58,141 | $28,419 |
| California College of the Arts (CA) | $57,344 | — |
| Boston Architectural College (MA) | $56,964 | $46,000 |
| California State Polytechnic University-Pomona (CA) | $56,226 | $28,040 |
| Drexel University (PA) | $56,215 | $31,000 |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (CA) | $55,714 | $27,500 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh (NC) | $53,848 | $25,759 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA) | $53,246 | $29,000 |
| Cornell University (NY) | $52,794 | — |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus (GA) | $52,288 | $28,192 |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) | $52,282 | $31,000 |
| University of California-Berkeley (CA) | $52,215 | $15,000 |
| The University of Texas at Austin (TX) | $51,821 | $21,000 |
| Newschool of Architecture and Design (CA) | $51,755 | — |
| Mississippi State University (MS) | $51,686 | $31,000 |

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/architecture.jsonld` · `/education/fields/architecture.json`