---
title: Is a Botany/Plant Biology degree worth the debt?
cip: 2603
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 Botany/Plant Biology degree worth the debt?

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

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $26,293 ($26,360 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $24,875 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.84× 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 | $26,293 | $24,875 | 0.84× | 5 | 5/5 |

## 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 Wisconsin-Madison (WI) | $30,520 | — |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh (NC) | $29,699 | $24,875 |
| Oregon State University (OR) | $26,293 | — |
| Oregon State University-Cascades Campus (OR) | $26,293 | — |
| California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt (CA) | $25,191 | — |

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/botany-plant-biology.jsonld` · `/education/fields/botany-plant-biology.json`