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

# University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA · 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 | $64,762 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $44,345 – $93,325 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $18,207 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,750 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 75% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $28,596 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 84% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.28× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $36,762 | 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 $18,207 (≈ 28% 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 $21,136 to $186,575 across 77 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $186,575 | $91,409 |
| Dentistry. | First Professional Degree | $125,938 | $241,115 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $107,534 | $119,905 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $101,571 | $29,500 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $99,200 | $100,145 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $95,222 | $42,275 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $91,411 | not reported |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration. | First Professional Degree | $85,649 | $147,065 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $85,403 | not reported |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Master's Degree | $82,289 | $30,471 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,973 | $24,250 |
| Industrial Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,231 | $21,375 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $66,862 | $74,694 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $65,863 | $37,882 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,942 | $26,990 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,367 | $22,922 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Doctoral Degree | $62,536 | not reported |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $61,283 | $80,268 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,039 | $27,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $59,094 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,083 | $17,734 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,967 | $20,500 |
| Journalism. | Master's Degree | $58,612 | $22,010 |
| Medicine. | First Professional Degree | $58,051 | $177,014 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,434 | $25,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,188 | $21,500 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $54,674 | $53,693 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,518 | $24,949 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,516 | $22,500 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,874 | $27,000 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,634 | $23,250 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $47,427 | $15,877 |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,918 | $21,275 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $46,836 | not reported |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,811 | $21,000 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Doctoral Degree | $44,792 | not reported |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $44,487 | not reported |
| Library Science and Administration. | Master's Degree | $44,367 | $42,965 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $43,677 | $43,291 |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning. | Master's Degree | $42,822 | not reported |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,807 | $20,486 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,929 | $21,399 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,689 | $27,000 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,648 | $21,886 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,556 | $21,625 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,499 | $21,761 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,289 | $22,850 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,220 | $21,500 |
| Criminology. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,879 | $21,500 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,092 | $23,957 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,933 | not reported |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,574 | $21,500 |
| Non-Professional Legal Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,148 | not reported |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,195 | $23,250 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,047 | $27,000 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,686 | $25,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Master's Degree | $31,644 | not reported |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,178 | $25,650 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,109 | $22,250 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,834 | $22,312 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,698 | $22,427 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,684 | $22,875 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,057 | $24,596 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,973 | $24,250 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,751 | $27,000 |
| English Language and Literature/Letters, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,536 | $22,230 |
| Health/Medical Preparatory Programs. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,092 | not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,072 | $20,400 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,945 | $21,379 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,443 | $24,116 |
| Dance. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,423 | $21,500 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,145 | $23,250 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,923 | $25,277 |
| Music. | Master's Degree | $25,587 | not reported |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,266 | $23,875 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,731 | $27,000 |
| International/Globalization Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,136 | $21,814 |

## 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 Iowa by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?153658

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