---
title: Harvard University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Cambridge, MA
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Harvard University

Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $101,817 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $65,309 – $200,054 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $11,118 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 98% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $85,540 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 89% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.12× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $73,817 | derived |

**98% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $12,500 (≈ 12% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $30,004 to $184,307 across 37 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $184,307 | $93,235 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | First Professional Degree | $171,333 | $41,000 |
| Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $151,371 | $278,414 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $140,072 | not reported |
| Computer Engineering. | Master's Degree | $137,302 | not reported |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $123,508 | $49,681 |
| Applied Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $102,707 | not reported |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $100,971 | $70,763 |
| Education, General. | Doctoral Degree | $97,905 | $25,465 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Master's Degree | $93,734 | $28,268 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $89,515 | $6,617 |
| Public Health. | Doctoral Degree | $88,958 | not reported |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Doctoral Degree | $79,694 | not reported |
| Statistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $78,193 | not reported |
| Public Policy Analysis. | Master's Degree | $76,875 | $70,447 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $76,078 | $20,525 |
| Dentistry. | First Professional Degree | $68,745 | $184,220 |
| Medicine. | First Professional Degree | $65,850 | $99,160 |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning. | Master's Degree | $64,828 | $41,000 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Master's Degree | $63,274 | $25,780 |
| History. | Doctoral Degree | $63,098 | not reported |
| Architecture. | Master's Degree | $62,291 | not reported |
| Architectural Sciences and Technology. | Master's Degree | $60,213 | $71,250 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $60,047 | $20,500 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,808 | not reported |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Master's Degree | $58,733 | $41,000 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,277 | not reported |
| Landscape Architecture. | Master's Degree | $56,151 | not reported |
| Research and Experimental Psychology. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,927 | not reported |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,411 | $12,721 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,328 | not reported |
| Social Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,926 | $22,750 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,939 | not reported |
| Theological and Ministerial Studies. | First Professional Degree | $36,528 | $36,777 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,334 | not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,485 | not reported |
| Theological and Ministerial Studies. | Master's Degree | $30,004 | $25,632 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Harvard University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?166027

---

Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/harvard-university-ma.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`