---
title: University at Buffalo — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Buffalo, NY
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# University at Buffalo

Buffalo, NY · Public · 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 | $70,814 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $45,990 – $100,175 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,250 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $7,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 75% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $30,785 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 82% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.20× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $42,814 | derived |

**75% 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 $14,250 (≈ 20% 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 $16,923 to $140,469 across 65 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $140,469 | $102,203 |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration. | First Professional Degree | $95,335 | $123,815 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,788 | $14,500 |
| Dentistry. | First Professional Degree | $70,533 | $196,586 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $70,415 | $40,119 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $68,721 | not reported |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,548 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,511 | $21,923 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,995 | $16,250 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Doctoral Degree | $66,390 | not reported |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $63,773 | not reported |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,859 | $20,500 |
| Industrial Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,581 | $20,875 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,042 | $21,530 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $60,728 | $61,500 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,109 | $19,000 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,797 | $23,000 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,397 | $19,500 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,257 | $21,512 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $54,249 | $16,000 |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $53,756 | $94,242 |
| Architecture. | Master's Degree | $50,952 | not reported |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $50,627 | $41,000 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $50,318 | $41,000 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,620 | $19,615 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $45,595 | not reported |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,437 | $21,500 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $45,087 | $40,798 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $44,969 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $44,869 | $30,750 |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language. | Master's Degree | $44,828 | $28,056 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,510 | $17,900 |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning. | Master's Degree | $44,380 | $41,000 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $43,809 | $32,717 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $43,155 | $41,000 |
| Library Science and Administration. | Master's Degree | $41,584 | $25,755 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,642 | $17,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $38,824 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,574 | $18,697 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,834 | $19,500 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,444 | not reported |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,274 | $17,843 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,477 | $22,783 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,417 | $24,510 |
| Architecture. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,844 | $22,536 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,827 | $19,750 |
| Social Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,016 | $19,000 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,746 | $15,374 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,034 | $19,970 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,639 | $18,014 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,689 | $19,000 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,967 | $15,000 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,574 | $21,248 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,698 | $22,500 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,476 | $22,500 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,021 | $19,500 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,822 | $18,861 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,699 | $16,056 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,366 | $20,500 |
| Biology, General. | Master's Degree | $22,326 | $23,750 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,944 | $20,500 |
| Dance. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,653 | $20,446 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,202 | $22,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Master's Degree | $18,671 | not reported |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $16,923 | $16,525 |

## 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 University at Buffalo by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?196088

---

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