---
title: Is an Engineering Physics degree worth the debt?
cip: 1412
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 Engineering Physics degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **9** colleges (9 of 9 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $53,359 ($60,171 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $21,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.41× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $48,606–$59,115 — 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 | $53,359 | $21,500 | 0.41× | 9 | 9/9 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus (OH) | $62,238 | — |
| University of Wisconsin-Platteville (WI) | $61,446 | $27,000 |
| Murray State University (KY) | $59,115 | $19,521 |
| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach (FL) | $58,469 | $22,500 |
| Fordham University (NY) | $53,359 | — |
| Grace College and Theological Seminary (IN) | $50,159 | — |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (IL) | $48,606 | $20,136 |
| Point Loma Nazarene University (CA) | $47,652 | — |
| Colorado School of Mines (CO) | $43,721 | $21,500 |

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/engineering-physics.jsonld` · `/education/fields/engineering-physics.json`