---
title: Is an Engineering Science degree worth the debt?
cip: 1413
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 Science degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **6** colleges (6 of 6 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $60,041 ($61,364 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,617 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.36× a first year's pay


**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 | $60,041 | $22,617 | 0.36× | 6 | 6/6 |
| Master's | $109,671 | $32,133 | 0.29× | 3 | 3/3 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Dartmouth College (NH) | $76,341 | $17,083 |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick (NJ) | $65,903 | $23,985 |
| Wartburg College (IA) | $60,225 | — |
| Hofstra University (NY) | $59,857 | $27,000 |
| California State University-Bakersfield (CA) | $59,382 | — |
| Trinity University (TX) | $59,096 | $21,249 |

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