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

# University of North Carolina Wilmington

Wilmington, NC · 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 | $54,967 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $37,279 – $81,800 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $15,178 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 71% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $26,547 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 75% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.28× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $26,967 | derived |

**71% 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 $15,178 (≈ 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 $17,845 to $86,377 across 47 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $86,377 | $28,810 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Doctoral Degree | $68,987 | $63,635 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $63,601 | $24,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,331 | $15,128 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Master's Degree | $59,693 | not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Master's Degree | $59,073 | $20,500 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,368 | $23,980 |
| Chemistry. | Master's Degree | $52,551 | $24,355 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,982 | $26,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Master's Degree | $47,230 | $29,717 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $46,604 | $30,854 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $46,594 | $30,000 |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,853 | $23,421 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $41,668 | $30,246 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,700 | $19,555 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,117 | $21,196 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $39,035 | $28,227 |
| Dispute Resolution. | Master's Degree | $37,960 | not reported |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,394 | $19,039 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Master's Degree | $37,296 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $37,217 | $25,375 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,429 | $18,250 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,711 | $16,400 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Master's Degree | $34,506 | not reported |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,772 | $22,995 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,195 | $20,125 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,283 | $21,000 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,882 | $22,786 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,926 | $19,000 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,370 | $21,458 |
| Criminology. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,209 | $20,000 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,180 | $19,500 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,957 | $20,625 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,261 | $21,500 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,148 | $19,500 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,071 | $22,000 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,805 | $23,250 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Master's Degree | $25,761 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,602 | $20,932 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,504 | $20,250 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,587 | $19,500 |
| International/Globalization Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,582 | $17,500 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,477 | $22,987 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,029 | $25,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,849 | $22,479 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,754 | $20,500 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $17,845 | $26,264 |

## 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 North Carolina Wilmington by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?199218

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