---
title: Is a Communication Disorders Sciences and Services degree worth the debt?
cip: 5102
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 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **120** colleges (120 of 120 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $24,726 ($26,353 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $20,108 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.84× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $21,531–$27,327 — 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 | $24,726 | $20,108 | 0.84× | 120 | 120/120 |
| Master's | $54,912 | $41,000 | 0.79× | 239 | 239/239 |
| Doctoral | $70,837 | $106,100 | 1.40× | 29 | 29/29 |
| Professional | $66,228 | $49,000 | 0.82× | 6 | 6/6 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Nevada State University (NV) | $45,525 | $18,581 |
| California Baptist University (CA) | $36,762 | $25,625 |
| Stephen F Austin State University (TX) | $36,186 | $19,500 |
| California State University-East Bay (CA) | $31,830 | — |
| Biola University (CA) | $31,574 | $26,522 |
| University of Maine (ME) | $31,275 | $27,000 |
| San Francisco State University (CA) | $31,065 | $16,500 |
| California State University-Los Angeles (CA) | $31,028 | $11,900 |
| University of Wisconsin-River Falls (WI) | $30,913 | $19,500 |
| College of Our Lady of the Elms (MA) | $30,497 | $27,000 |
| Southern University and A & M College (LA) | $30,377 | $35,124 |
| Southern University Law Center (LA) | $30,377 | $35,124 |
| CUNY Lehman College (NY) | $30,172 | $8,000 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (MN) | $29,804 | $16,266 |
| Utah State University (UT) | $29,537 | $12,647 |

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/communication-disorders-sciences-and-services.jsonld` · `/education/fields/communication-disorders-sciences-and-services.json`