---
title: Is a Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services degree worth the debt?
cip: 5131
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 Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **45** colleges (45 of 45 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $29,443 ($32,569 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $21,670 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.71× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $26,004–$35,935 — 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 | $29,443 | $21,670 | 0.71× | 45 | 45/45 |
| Master's | $48,690 | $33,459 | 0.75× | 30 | 30/30 |
| Grad cert. | $47,776 | $20,500 | 0.45× | 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Viterbo University (WI) | $47,085 | — |
| Eastern Michigan University (MI) | $46,112 | $27,871 |
| Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale (FL) | $45,302 | $43,424 |
| North Dakota State University-Main Campus (ND) | $40,922 | $26,625 |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus (OH) | $39,954 | $20,500 |
| Purdue University-Main Campus (IN) | $38,807 | $20,254 |
| SUNY Buffalo State University (NY) | $38,709 | $26,450 |
| University of North Dakota (ND) | $37,354 | — |
| University of Illinois Chicago (IL) | $37,263 | — |
| Youngstown State University (OH) | $37,135 | $27,729 |
| University of Akron Main Campus (OH) | $36,289 | $24,233 |
| Long Island University (NY) | $35,935 | — |
| CUNY Lehman College (NY) | $33,203 | $12,012 |
| Purdue University Global (IN) | $33,198 | $27,125 |
| Kansas State University (KS) | $33,115 | $24,197 |

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/dietetics-and-clinical-nutrition-services.jsonld` · `/education/fields/dietetics-and-clinical-nutrition-services.json`