---
title: Is an Astronomy and Astrophysics degree worth the debt?
cip: 4002
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 Astronomy and Astrophysics degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **5** colleges (5 of 5 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $37,212 ($36,848 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,057 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.83× a first year's pay


**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 | $37,212 | $23,057 | 0.83× | 5 | 5/5 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The University of Texas at Austin (TX) | $42,770 | — |
| The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (NY) | $42,379 | — |
| University of Colorado Boulder (CO) | $37,212 | $21,500 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus (PA) | $22,853 | $24,614 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (MI) | $19,258 | — |

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/astronomy-and-astrophysics.jsonld` · `/education/fields/astronomy-and-astrophysics.json`