Athens State Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biology, General
- Public university
- Athens, AL
- About 12 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Athens State biology graduates earn more than graduates of most biology programs nationally, $36,907 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $21,187 in federal loans, less than at 79% of biology programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying biology degrees in Alabama.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Alabama and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Athens State graduates earn about the national figure and about $4,037 more than the Alabama median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Alabama biology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Alabama medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 60% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $225 a month, or 7.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
90% of graduates (19 of 21) were working in Alabama one year after graduating. Prices in the Huntsville area are about 7% below the national average, so a $36,907 salary here buys what about $39,654 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to biology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$61,990Median pay in Alabama. 15,880 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
$68,490Median pay in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Natural Sciences Managers
$133,470Median pay in Alabama. 370 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Biological Technicians
$49,220Median pay in Alabama. 270 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Athens State
Biology ranks 13th of 15 bachelor's programs at Athens State by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($78,435), Other Business ($63,754), and Mathematics ($57,584).
Other biology bachelor's programs near Athens
Common questions
The median graduate earns $36,907 one year after graduating and $58,894 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in Alabama is $30,038.
The median federal loan balance is $21,187, which ranks the lowest of 14 biology bachelor's programs in Alabama. That works out to about $225 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 57% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%.
Most do. 90% (19 of 21) were working in Alabama one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Alabama comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the biology program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024