---
title: Is a Natural Sciences degree worth the debt?
cip: 3018
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 Natural Sciences degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **6** colleges (6 of 6 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $21,706 ($30,554 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $25,554 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 1.04× a first year's pay


**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 | $21,706 | $25,554 | 1.04× | 6 | 6/6 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Dominican University (IL) | $29,252 | $25,109 |
| Kansas State University (KS) | $22,898 | $20,500 |
| Loyola Marymount University (CA) | $21,994 | $26,000 |
| Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (PA) | $21,419 | $26,000 |
| University of Puerto Rico at Cayey (PR) | $18,494 | $5,500 |
| Daemen University (NY) | $5,783 | $27,000 |

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/natural-sciences.jsonld` · `/education/fields/natural-sciences.json`