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

# University of Colorado Boulder

Boulder, CO · 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 | $69,738 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $43,748 – $103,315 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $13,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 74% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $37,684 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 79% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.19× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $41,738 | derived |

**74% 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 $13,000 (≈ 19% 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 $23,631 to $105,752 across 59 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Engineering, General. | Master's Degree | $105,752 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Master's Degree | $98,654 | not reported |
| Computer Science. | Master's Degree | $93,907 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $87,191 | $41,000 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Master's Degree | $85,254 | $41,000 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Master's Degree | $79,580 | $33,316 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $76,200 | $41,000 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Doctoral Degree | $75,633 | not reported |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $74,023 | $23,338 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,135 | $24,500 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $69,804 | $19,687 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,440 | $19,221 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,046 | $19,318 |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $67,419 | not reported |
| Architectural Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,737 | $14,500 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,457 | $18,958 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,177 | $23,650 |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $58,611 | $105,696 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $57,315 | not reported |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,674 | $20,836 |
| Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education. | Master's Degree | $55,318 | not reported |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $50,172 | $68,085 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,673 | $20,500 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,947 | $19,258 |
| Biochemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,106 | $15,516 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,181 | not reported |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,089 | $15,630 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,502 | $23,913 |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Master's Degree | $43,354 | not reported |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,963 | $18,500 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,374 | $19,306 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,409 | $16,500 |
| Music. | Doctoral Degree | $40,271 | $33,336 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,625 | $15,250 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,605 | $19,500 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,142 | $16,500 |
| Astronomy and Astrophysics. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,212 | $21,500 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,809 | not reported |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,609 | $18,487 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,383 | $18,794 |
| International/Globalization Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,353 | $17,340 |
| Environmental Design. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,307 | $22,497 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,274 | $16,000 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,145 | $15,500 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,035 | $18,742 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,404 | $19,750 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,463 | $20,547 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,428 | $19,483 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,230 | $21,256 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,747 | $19,225 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,445 | not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,921 | $19,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Master's Degree | $25,871 | not reported |
| Music. | Master's Degree | $25,074 | $41,000 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,880 | $18,583 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,703 | not reported |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,668 | $19,500 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,382 | $15,303 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,631 | $15,250 |

## 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 Colorado Boulder by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?126614

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