---
title: Is a Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering degree worth the debt?
cip: 1422
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 Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **5** colleges (5 of 5 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $71,291 ($85,982 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $27,000 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.33× 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 | $71,291 | $27,000 | 0.33× | 5 | 5/5 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Maine Maritime Academy (ME) | $94,796 | $27,000 |
| Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MA) | $83,261 | $27,000 |
| SUNY Maritime College (NY) | $71,291 | $27,000 |
| Webb Institute (NY) | $70,908 | — |
| Texas A&M University-College Station (TX) | $65,583 | $21,657 |

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/naval-architecture-and-marine-engineering.jsonld` · `/education/fields/naval-architecture-and-marine-engineering.json`