---
title: Is an Environmental Design degree worth the debt?
cip: 0404
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 Environmental Design degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **10** colleges (10 of 10 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $35,204 ($38,976 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $21,248 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.55× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $32,606–$41,714 — 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 | $35,204 | $21,248 | 0.55× | 10 | 10/10 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cornell University (NY) | $58,069 | — |
| University of Hawaii at Manoa (HI) | $42,517 | $22,648 |
| Florida Atlantic University (FL) | $42,280 | $14,347 |
| Bowling Green State University-Main Campus (OH) | $40,015 | $25,072 |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst (MA) | $35,881 | $20,000 |
| University of California-Davis (CA) | $34,527 | — |
| University of Colorado Boulder (CO) | $34,307 | $22,497 |
| Utah State University (UT) | $32,039 | — |
| Montana State University (MT) | $20,010 | — |
| University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras (PR) | $15,370 | $5,500 |

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/environmental-design.jsonld` · `/education/fields/environmental-design.json`