---
title: Is a Physics degree worth the debt?
cip: 4008
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 Physics degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **78** colleges (78 of 78 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $38,470 ($41,193 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $21,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.50× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $33,758–$43,876 — 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 | $38,470 | $21,500 | 0.50× | 78 | 78/78 |
| Master's | $83,810 | — | — | 4 | 4/4 |
| Doctoral | $79,371 | — | — | 3 | 3/3 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Arizona (AZ) | $66,451 | $20,500 |
| University of Wisconsin-River Falls (WI) | $55,752 | $19,500 |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst (MA) | $55,521 | $26,202 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (MN) | $55,327 | $23,930 |
| Columbia College Chicago (IL) | $54,861 | — |
| University of Chicago (IL) | $52,578 | — |
| Southern Arkansas University Main Campus (AR) | $52,362 | $22,250 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College (PA) | $50,536 | $23,299 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus (PA) | $50,536 | $23,299 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington (PA) | $50,536 | $23,299 |
| University of California-Santa Barbara (CA) | $49,863 | $15,965 |
| University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (WI) | $48,888 | — |
| University of Maryland-College Park (MD) | $48,534 | $19,500 |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (IL) | $47,882 | $19,500 |
| University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (WI) | $46,468 | $19,500 |

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