---
title: Is an Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology degree worth the debt?
cip: 2613
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 an Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **68** colleges (68 of 68 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $26,412 ($24,904 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $20,878 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.83× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $23,394–$30,258 — 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 | $26,412 | $20,878 | 0.83× | 68 | 68/68 |
| Master's | $50,134 | $62,600 | 1.08× | 21 | 21/21 |
| Doctoral | $54,533 | $43,008 | 0.65× | 7 | 7/7 |

## Where an 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 |
| Yale University (CT) | $34,915 | — |
| California State University-Long Beach (CA) | $34,271 | $17,750 |
| East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $32,549 | $18,500 |
| California State Polytechnic University-Pomona (CA) | $32,416 | $12,744 |
| Boston University (MA) | $32,224 | $24,677 |
| California State University-Chico (CA) | $32,122 | — |
| Hawaii Pacific University (HI) | $31,128 | $23,432 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus (WA) | $30,943 | — |
| Jacksonville University (FL) | $30,682 | — |
| Brigham Young University (UT) | $30,637 | $10,419 |

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/ecology-evolution-systematics-and-population-biology.jsonld` · `/education/fields/ecology-evolution-systematics-and-population-biology.json`