---
title: Is a Religion/Religious Studies degree worth the debt?
cip: 3802
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 Religion/Religious Studies degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **26** colleges (26 of 26 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $28,029 ($27,060 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,434 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.77× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $24,858–$32,014 — 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 | $28,029 | $22,434 | 0.77× | 26 | 26/26 |
| Master's | $47,868 | $31,900 | 0.67× | 4 | 4/4 |
| Doctoral | $45,194 | $126,032 | 3.31× | 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The Catholic University of America (DC) | $38,790 | — |
| Liberty University (VA) | $35,680 | $31,332 |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte (NC) | $35,673 | $22,500 |
| Jewish Theological Seminary of America (NY) | $35,599 | $16,750 |
| Ohio Christian University (OH) | $34,222 | $30,625 |
| Saint Leo University (FL) | $33,449 | $33,534 |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion (AZ) | $32,014 | $21,000 |
| Arizona State University Digital Immersion (AZ) | $32,014 | $21,000 |
| Gordon College (MA) | $31,219 | — |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC) | $29,606 | $12,550 |
| University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (WI) | $28,910 | — |
| DePauw University (IN) | $28,804 | — |
| Cairn University-Langhorne (PA) | $28,083 | $30,437 |
| University of St Thomas (MN) | $27,975 | $19,500 |
| Carson-Newman University (TN) | $26,872 | — |

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/religion-religious-studies.jsonld` · `/education/fields/religion-religious-studies.json`