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

# University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham, AL · 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 | $54,501 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $33,873 – $80,711 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $15,832 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $10,204 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 64% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $28,145 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 73% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.29× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $26,501 | derived |

**64% 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 $15,832 (≈ 29% 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 $14,222 to $158,993 across 61 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $158,993 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $117,171 | $48,950 |
| Dentistry. | First Professional Degree | $100,128 | not reported |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Master's Degree | $98,582 | $109,751 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $91,552 | $41,000 |
| Optometry. | First Professional Degree | $91,176 | $164,956 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Master's Degree | $89,298 | $41,000 |
| Engineering, General. | Master's Degree | $85,743 | $34,166 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Master's Degree | $78,497 | $40,861 |
| Materials Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $73,616 | not reported |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $73,211 | $89,010 |
| Systems Science and Theory. | Master's Degree | $67,948 | $35,696 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,413 | $23,362 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $66,003 | $67,010 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $65,356 | $34,459 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,241 | $20,250 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,824 | $25,750 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $57,409 | $50,980 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,154 | $20,750 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $56,767 | $30,750 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $55,835 | $29,751 |
| Education, General. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $55,623 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,481 | $18,000 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $53,956 | $36,487 |
| Medicine. | First Professional Degree | $53,708 | not reported |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,299 | $26,000 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $49,726 | $32,000 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services. | Master's Degree | $49,634 | $26,603 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,623 | $27,000 |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language. | Master's Degree | $47,975 | $15,350 |
| Nutrition Sciences. | Master's Degree | $46,748 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,512 | $24,000 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $45,296 | $37,000 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,954 | $19,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $42,811 | $30,750 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $41,621 | $23,875 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,459 | $23,571 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $38,937 | $47,260 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,117 | $22,072 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Master's Degree | $35,927 | $34,167 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,408 | $25,125 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,758 | $28,267 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,272 | not reported |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,883 | $21,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,620 | $22,500 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,245 | $24,990 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,100 | $25,000 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,245 | $24,125 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,052 | $26,500 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,046 | $21,614 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,940 | $21,360 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,215 | $21,868 |
| Social Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,052 | not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,282 | $22,373 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,827 | $21,250 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,655 | $20,750 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,280 | $23,437 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,231 | $21,500 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,647 | $24,784 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,839 | $26,000 |
| Biology, General. | Master's Degree | $14,222 | $30,750 |

## 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 of Alabama at Birmingham by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?100663

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