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

Is an Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 68 colleges (68 of 68 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$26,412

Graduates only, early career.$24,904 two years out.

Median federal debt

$20,878

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.83×

84% of a first year's earnings.

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

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology report early-career pay between $23,394 and $30,258 — a spread of $6,864 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $23,394 median $26,412 75th pct $30,258

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 68 colleges $26,412 $20,878 0.83×

Master's 21 colleges $50,134 $62,600 1.08×

Doctoral 7 colleges $54,533 $43,008 0.65×

Where an 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.

Harvard University MA $41,939 —

Princeton University NJ $38,447 —

SUNY Brockport NY $38,225 —

Ferris State University MI $37,314 —

University of Maryland-College Park MD $36,711 $19,500 debt

Yale University CT $34,915 —

California State University-Long Beach CA $34,271 $17,750 debt

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania PA $32,549 $18,500 debt

California State Polytechnic University-Pomona CA $32,416 $12,744 debt

Boston University MA $32,224 $24,677 debt

California State University-Chico CA $32,122 —

Hawaii Pacific University HI $31,128 $23,432 debt

University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA $30,943 —

Jacksonville University FL $30,682 —

Brigham Young University UT $30,637 $10,419 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology, 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