---
title: Is a Sustainability Studies degree worth the debt?
cip: 3033
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 Sustainability Studies degree worth the debt?

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

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $31,639 ($35,060 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $19,333 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.58× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $27,385–$38,619 — 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 | $31,639 | $19,333 | 0.58× | 11 | 11/11 |
| Master's | $53,060 | $43,153 | 0.81× | 10 | 10/10 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Columbia University in the City of New York (NY) | $46,855 | $18,070 |
| University of New Hampshire-Main Campus (NH) | $39,752 | $27,000 |
| Miami University-Hamilton (OH) | $38,619 | $22,370 |
| Miami University-Oxford (OH) | $38,619 | $22,370 |
| George Mason University (VA) | $33,709 | $24,670 |
| Colorado Mountain College (CO) | $31,639 | $10,188 |
| University of Florida (FL) | $29,586 | $15,000 |
| Western Washington University (WA) | $29,412 | $19,086 |
| Montana State University (MT) | $25,358 | — |
| University of Northern Colorado (CO) | $23,188 | — |
| University of California-Riverside (CA) | $17,395 | $19,333 |

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/sustainability-studies.jsonld` · `/education/fields/sustainability-studies.json`