---
title: Is a Medicine degree worth the debt?
cip: 5112
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 Medicine degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Professional**, across **120** colleges (120 of 120 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $58,005 ($58,090 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $187,714 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 3.28× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $56,030–$59,308 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Doctoral | $57,475 | $185,650 | 3.32× | 21 | 21/21 |
| Professional | $58,005 | $187,714 | 3.28× | 120 | 120/120 |

## Where a Professional in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stanford University (CA) | $68,238 | $71,477 |
| Harvard University (MA) | $65,850 | $99,160 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York (NY) | $65,213 | $63,865 |
| Cornell University (NY) | $64,777 | — |
| Weill Medical College of Cornell University (NY) | $64,777 | — |
| Yeshiva University (NY) | $64,370 | — |
| Hofstra University (NY) | $64,221 | $153,791 |
| University of California-San Francisco (CA) | $63,684 | $131,110 |
| Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (NY) | $63,553 | — |
| New York University (NY) | $63,315 | — |
| Stony Brook University (NY) | $61,633 | $235,558 |
| University of Southern California (CA) | $61,414 | $234,702 |
| Boston University (MA) | $61,274 | $205,222 |
| University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $61,038 | $109,430 |
| University of Connecticut (CT) | $60,981 | $120,716 |

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/medicine.jsonld` · `/education/fields/medicine.json`