---
title: Is a Theological and Ministerial Studies degree worth the debt?
cip: 3906
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 Theological and Ministerial Studies degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **27** colleges (27 of 27 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $29,273 ($28,598 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,456 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.76× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $26,083–$33,671 — 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 | $29,273 | $23,456 | 0.76× | 27 | 27/27 |
| Master's | $44,174 | $42,191 | 1.03× | 98 | 98/98 |
| Doctoral | $57,466 | $33,292 | 1.05× | 8 | 8/8 |
| Professional | $42,390 | $47,198 | 1.12× | 9 | 9/9 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Boston College (MA) | $40,529 | — |
| Nazarene Bible College (CO) | $39,270 | $37,410 |
| Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OK) | $38,789 | $27,000 |
| Hope International University (CA) | $35,221 | — |
| Lincoln Christian University | $35,010 | $17,151 |
| Concordia University Ann Arbor (MI) | $34,321 | $25,000 |
| Concordia University-Wisconsin (WI) | $34,321 | $25,000 |
| Northwest University (WA) | $33,021 | $25,000 |
| Northwest University-Center for Online and Extended Education (WA) | $33,021 | $25,000 |
| Ave Maria University (FL) | $31,775 | $20,000 |
| University of Valley Forge (PA) | $31,099 | $27,000 |
| Benedictine College (KS) | $30,946 | $23,250 |
| Moody Bible Institute (IL) | $29,411 | $15,000 |
| University of Northwestern-St Paul (MN) | $29,273 | $19,500 |
| Carolina University (NC) | $28,596 | $19,691 |

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/theological-and-ministerial-studies.jsonld` · `/education/fields/theological-and-ministerial-studies.json`