---
title: Is a Human Resources Management and Services degree worth the debt?
cip: 5210
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 a Human Resources Management and Services degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **178** colleges (178 of 178 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $43,896 ($44,316 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,325 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.53× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $40,294–$47,976 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Certificate | $42,574 | $7,125 | 0.17× | 7 | 7/7 |
| Associate's | $35,755 | $21,801 | 0.55× | 22 | 22/22 |
| Bachelor's | $43,896 | $23,325 | 0.53× | 178 | 178/178 |
| Master's | $54,550 | $41,000 | 0.77× | 158 | 158/158 |
| Doctoral | $90,061 | $124,042 | 1.41× | 5 | 5/5 |
| Grad cert. | $46,095 | $30,750 | 0.67× | 19 | 19/19 |

## Where a 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Concordia University-Chicago (IL) | $74,135 | $22,495 |
| Northwestern University (IL) | $69,350 | $33,332 |
| Cornell University (NY) | $65,696 | $14,000 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (MI) | $61,347 | $14,225 |
| Bryant University (RI) | $59,894 | $26,000 |
| San Jose State University (CA) | $59,001 | — |
| Waldorf University (IA) | $58,151 | $28,125 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus (WA) | $56,925 | — |
| University of Massachusetts Global (CA) | $56,794 | $23,617 |
| Colorado State University Global (CO) | $55,055 | $25,000 |
| Benedictine University (IL) | $54,576 | $29,048 |
| Southern Nazarene University (OK) | $54,575 | $18,750 |
| Pace University (NY) | $53,863 | — |
| Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (MN) | $53,758 | — |
| Capella University (MN) | $53,132 | $25,063 |

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/human-resources-management-and-services.jsonld` · `/education/fields/human-resources-management-and-services.json`