---
title: Is a Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other degree worth the debt?
cip: 2699
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 Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **17** colleges (17 of 17 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $26,833 ($27,667 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $25,601 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.90× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $26,833–$30,079 — 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 | $26,833 | $25,601 | 0.90× | 17 | 17/17 |
| Master's | $25,430 | $41,000 | 1.11× | 11 | 11/11 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Maryland Global Campus (MD) | $66,765 | — |
| Indiana University-Bloomington (IN) | $33,769 | $22,843 |
| Russell Sage College (NY) | $31,305 | $24,375 |
| Cornell University (NY) | $30,195 | $13,210 |
| Springfield College (MA) | $30,079 | $27,000 |
| University at Albany (NY) | $28,368 | $20,500 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Penn State New Kensington (PA) | $26,833 | $25,601 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Scranton (PA) | $26,833 | $25,601 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Lehigh Valley (PA) | $26,833 | $25,601 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg (PA) | $26,833 | $25,601 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus (PA) | $26,833 | $25,601 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Greater Allegheny (PA) | $26,833 | $25,601 |
| Pennsylvania State University-World Campus (PA) | $26,833 | $25,601 |
| California State University-Bakersfield (CA) | $26,566 | — |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (IL) | $25,547 | $19,500 |

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/biological-and-biomedical-sciences-other.jsonld` · `/education/fields/biological-and-biomedical-sciences-other.json`