---
title: Is a Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology degree worth the debt?
cip: 2602
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 Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **125** colleges (125 of 125 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $30,368 ($32,424 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $20,672 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.64× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $27,151–$35,592 — 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 | $30,368 | $20,672 | 0.64× | 125 | 125/125 |
| Master's | $41,780 | $38,250 | 0.81× | 8 | 8/8 |
| Doctoral | $55,621 | — | — | 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Northeastern University (MA) | $48,487 | $23,250 |
| California State University-San Marcos (CA) | $46,580 | $20,983 |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) | $46,292 | — |
| California State University-Sacramento (CA) | $45,587 | $16,500 |
| University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (WI) | $45,498 | — |
| University of Delaware (DE) | $45,447 | $25,334 |
| University of Kansas (KS) | $44,752 | $18,250 |
| Purdue University-Main Campus (IN) | $44,361 | $17,713 |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA) | $43,408 | $27,000 |
| University of New Hampshire-Main Campus (NH) | $43,279 | $27,000 |
| University of Missouri-St Louis (MO) | $42,918 | $23,850 |
| California State University-East Bay (CA) | $41,513 | — |
| Brandeis University (MA) | $40,712 | $27,000 |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst (MA) | $39,509 | $23,250 |
| Bowdoin College (ME) | $39,454 | — |

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/biochemistry-biophysics-and-molecular-biology.jsonld` · `/education/fields/biochemistry-biophysics-and-molecular-biology.json`