---
title: Is a Behavioral Sciences degree worth the debt?
cip: 3017
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 a Behavioral Sciences degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **19** colleges (19 of 19 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $30,127 ($31,015 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,600 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.94× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $27,079–$32,857 — 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 | $30,127 | $23,600 | 0.94× | 19 | 19/19 |
| Master's | $49,018 | $42,510 | 0.88× | 3 | 3/3 |

## Where a 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| George Fox University (OR) | $35,828 | $19,739 |
| San Jose State University (CA) | $33,421 | — |
| Metropolitan State University of Denver (CO) | $33,393 | — |
| York College of Pennsylvania (PA) | $33,335 | — |
| Wilmington University (DE) | $33,135 | $21,880 |
| University of Phoenix-Arizona (AZ) | $32,579 | $43,313 |
| University of Phoenix-California | $32,579 | $43,313 |
| University of Phoenix-Nevada | $32,579 | $43,313 |
| University of Phoenix-Texas | $32,579 | $43,313 |
| The University of Arizona Global Campus (AZ) | $30,127 | $40,083 |
| University of Houston-Clear Lake (TX) | $29,871 | $21,936 |
| University of Kansas (KS) | $29,023 | $23,600 |
| University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (WI) | $27,825 | $21,250 |
| Mid-America Christian University (OK) | $27,168 | — |
| Purdue University Northwest (IN) | $26,990 | $14,500 |

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/behavioral-sciences.jsonld` · `/education/fields/behavioral-sciences.json`