Bridgewater State Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biology, General
- Public university
- Bridgewater, MA
- About 70 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Bridgewater State biology graduates earn more than graduates of most biology programs nationally, $44,626 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. It is one of the higher-paying biology degrees in Massachusetts.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Massachusetts and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Bridgewater State graduates earn about the national figure but about $5,830 less than the Massachusetts median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts biology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Massachusetts 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 39% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $4,630 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 7.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 20 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $16,997.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
92% of graduates (98 of 106) were working in Massachusetts one year after graduating. Prices in the Boston area are about 8% above the national average, so a $44,626 salary here buys what about $41,219 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
$95,260Median pay in Massachusetts. 28,460 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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
$128,210Median pay in Massachusetts. 17,100 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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
$267,290Median pay in Massachusetts. 10,590 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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
$62,070Median pay in Massachusetts. 8,430 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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 Bridgewater State
Biology ranks 7th of 22 bachelor's programs at Bridgewater State by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($57,007), Chemistry ($55,376), and Accounting ($54,221).
Other biology bachelor's programs near Bridgewater
Common questions
The median graduate earns $44,626 one year after graduating and $62,139 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in Massachusetts is $41,879.
The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 18th lowest of 32 biology bachelor's programs in Massachusetts. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 61% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Massachusetts programs report higher pay.
Most do. 92% (98 of 106) were working in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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