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

# University of Houston-Downtown

Houston, TX · 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 | $53,551 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $30,812 – $72,505 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $13,750 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $10,687 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 33% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $20,749 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 75% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.26× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $25,551 | derived |

**33% 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 $13,750 (≈ 26% 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 $21,332 to $73,187 across 31 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $73,187 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $68,458 | $41,000 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Master's Degree | $57,108 | not reported |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Master's Degree | $56,980 | $40,760 |
| Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,110 | not reported |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,158 | $15,830 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,921 | $16,055 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,118 | $21,875 |
| Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,074 | $34,208 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,661 | $19,750 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,449 | $19,545 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,387 | $18,750 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,554 | $17,000 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,314 | not reported |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,605 | $18,750 |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,419 | $20,099 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,084 | $18,529 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,927 | $14,000 |
| Biological and Physical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,725 | $21,765 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,750 | $21,948 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,709 | $23,455 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,624 | $19,815 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,226 | $21,527 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,915 | $21,656 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,352 | $18,750 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,071 | $18,950 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,011 | $23,000 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,481 | $20,646 |
| Social Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,763 | $21,452 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,640 | $20,000 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,332 | not reported |

## 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 Houston-Downtown by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?225432

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