---
title: Is an Education, General degree worth the debt?
cip: 1301
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 Education, General degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **67** colleges (67 of 67 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $33,956 ($33,993 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $24,046 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.68× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $29,702–$39,174 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Associate's | $18,207 | $11,000 | 0.60× | 9 | 9/9 |
| Bachelor's | $33,956 | $24,046 | 0.68× | 67 | 67/67 |
| Master's | $48,746 | $28,620 | 0.56× | 214 | 214/214 |
| Doctoral | $71,669 | $66,580 | 0.94× | 31 | 31/31 |
| Grad cert. | $46,541 | $75,167 | 1.24× | 8 | 8/8 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bellevue University (NE) | $66,284 | $22,750 |
| Seattle Pacific University (WA) | $49,856 | $25,000 |
| Monmouth University (NJ) | $49,648 | $27,000 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus (WA) | $47,896 | $14,159 |
| University of Washington-Bothell Campus (WA) | $47,896 | $14,159 |
| University of Washington-Tacoma Campus (WA) | $47,896 | $14,159 |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick (NJ) | $47,814 | — |
| Southwestern University (TX) | $47,033 | — |
| University of Hawaii-West Oahu (HI) | $46,264 | $20,000 |
| City University of Seattle (WA) | $45,564 | — |
| Springfield College (MA) | $45,339 | $27,000 |
| Corban University (OR) | $40,819 | $26,528 |
| University of Mount Olive (NC) | $40,674 | — |
| Nelson University (TX) | $40,206 | $26,500 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (MN) | $40,200 | $18,125 |

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/education-general.jsonld` · `/education/fields/education-general.json`