---
title: Is a Microbiological Sciences and Immunology degree worth the debt?
cip: 2605
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 Microbiological Sciences and Immunology degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **52** colleges (52 of 52 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $32,920 ($34,704 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $21,099 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.63× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $30,096–$36,905 — 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 | $32,920 | $21,099 | 0.63× | 52 | 52/52 |
| Master's | $43,995 | $38,533 | 1.13× | 7 | 7/7 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| San Francisco State University (CA) | $47,260 | $24,186 |
| 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 |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst (MA) | $41,003 | $23,750 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh (NC) | $39,532 | $22,956 |
| California State University-Chico (CA) | $39,408 | $23,500 |
| Miami University-Oxford (OH) | $38,948 | $26,972 |
| University of California-Berkeley (CA) | $38,349 | $14,455 |
| Michigan State University (MI) | $38,059 | $26,625 |
| University of California-Santa Barbara (CA) | $37,928 | $16,500 |
| University of Vermont (VT) | $37,907 | $24,879 |
| Clemson University (SC) | $37,067 | $23,884 |
| University of California-Riverside (CA) | $36,851 | $13,939 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI) | $36,807 | $21,500 |

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/microbiological-sciences-and-immunology.jsonld` · `/education/fields/microbiological-sciences-and-immunology.json`