---
title: Is a Public Administration and Social Service Professions, Other degree worth the debt?
cip: 4499
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 Public Administration and Social Service Professions, Other degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **11** colleges (11 of 11 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $35,754 ($36,077 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $26,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.55× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $32,413–$44,600 — 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 | $35,754 | $26,500 | 0.55× | 11 | 11/11 |
| Master's | $54,606 | $39,275 | 0.57× | 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus (VA) | $55,708 | $19,500 |
| Jacksonville State University (AL) | $50,026 | $27,667 |
| Empire State University (NY) | $49,562 | — |
| Northeastern Illinois University (IL) | $39,637 | — |
| University at Albany (NY) | $36,358 | $18,400 |
| University of California-Davis (CA) | $35,754 | $14,171 |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick (NJ) | $33,108 | $26,500 |
| Rutgers University-Newark (NJ) | $33,108 | $26,500 |
| College of Coastal Georgia (GA) | $31,718 | — |
| National Louis University (IL) | $27,130 | — |
| Troy University (AL) | $26,708 | $26,500 |

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/public-administration-and-social-service-professions-other.jsonld` · `/education/fields/public-administration-and-social-service-professions-other.json`