College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Microbiological Sciences and Immunology degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 52 colleges (52 of 52 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$32,920

Graduates only, early career.$34,704 two years out.

Median federal debt

$21,099

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.63×

63% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Microbiological Sciences and Immunology report early-career pay between $30,096 and $36,905 — a spread of $6,809 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $30,096 median $32,920 75th pct $36,905

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 52 colleges $32,920 $21,099 0.63×

Master's 7 colleges $43,995 $38,533 1.13×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

San Francisco State University CA $47,260 $24,186 debt

California State University-Northridge CA $45,355 —

California State University-Long Beach CA $41,546 —

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse WI $41,500 $25,464 debt

University of Massachusetts-Amherst MA $41,003 $23,750 debt

North Carolina State University at Raleigh NC $39,532 $22,956 debt

California State University-Chico CA $39,408 $23,500 debt

Miami University-Oxford OH $38,948 $26,972 debt

University of California-Berkeley CA $38,349 $14,455 debt

Michigan State University MI $38,059 $26,625 debt

University of California-Santa Barbara CA $37,928 $16,500 debt

University of Vermont VT $37,907 $24,879 debt

Clemson University SC $37,067 $23,884 debt

University of California-Riverside CA $36,851 $13,939 debt

University of Wisconsin-Madison WI $36,807 $21,500 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Microbiological Sciences and Immunology, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard