---
title: Is a Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness degree worth the debt?
cip: 3105
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 Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **528** colleges (528 of 528 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $28,522 ($29,685 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,948 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.82× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $25,344–$31,398 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Certificate | $23,937 | $6,333 | 0.34× | 7 | 7/7 |
| Associate's | $22,881 | $19,510 | 0.64× | 9 | 9/9 |
| Bachelor's | $28,522 | $23,948 | 0.82× | 528 | 528/528 |
| Master's | $41,024 | $30,119 | 0.72× | 156 | 156/156 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| American Public University System (WV) | $47,616 | $25,250 |
| Southern Methodist University (TX) | $45,216 | $22,581 |
| Dickinson State University (ND) | $43,445 | — |
| Seton Hall University (NJ) | $42,237 | $25,125 |
| Maryville University of Saint Louis (MO) | $40,580 | $15,867 |
| South Dakota State University (SD) | $39,627 | $24,068 |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst (MA) | $39,519 | $23,250 |
| Shenandoah University (VA) | $38,731 | $25,432 |
| Citadel Military College of South Carolina (SC) | $38,673 | $23,000 |
| Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OK) | $38,573 | — |
| Rice University (TX) | $38,232 | $10,000 |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia (SC) | $38,046 | $21,500 |
| University of North Dakota (ND) | $37,657 | — |
| Winona State University (MN) | $37,552 | $25,000 |
| Louisiana Christian University (LA) | $37,537 | $23,000 |

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/sports-kinesiology-and-physical-education-fitness.jsonld` · `/education/fields/sports-kinesiology-and-physical-education-fitness.json`