College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Computer and Information Sciences, General degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 424 colleges (424 of 424 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$55,458

Graduates only, early career.$59,098 two years out.

Median federal debt

$22,528

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.41×

41% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is well under a single year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Computer and Information Sciences, General report early-career pay between $48,007 and $65,253 — a spread of $17,246 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $48,007 median $55,458 75th pct $65,253

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Certificate 8 colleges $31,382 $8,739 0.32×

Associate's 80 colleges $32,855 $12,246 0.34×

Bachelor's 424 colleges $55,458 $22,528 0.41×

Master's 60 colleges $82,907 $37,127 0.43×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Yale University CT $133,998 $15,000 debt

Rice University TX $122,770 $12,373 debt

University of California-Los Angeles CA $117,100 $15,156 debt

Wellesley College MA $110,380 $13,350 debt

Johns Hopkins University MD $105,950 $12,750 debt

University of Pennsylvania PA $102,195 $15,000 debt

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI $100,643 $19,475 debt

Swarthmore College PA $97,897 —

Northeastern University Oakland CA $95,288 $22,583 debt

Northeastern University MA $95,288 $22,583 debt

Northeastern University Professional Programs MA $95,288 $22,583 debt

Cornell University NY $90,735 $15,500 debt

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus GA $89,428 $20,500 debt

The University of Texas at Austin TX $89,133 $20,500 debt

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo CA $88,197 —

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Computer and Information Sciences, General, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard