Cleveland University-Kansas City Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biology, General
- Private nonprofit university
- Overland Park, KS
- About 39 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Cleveland University-Kansas City biology graduates earn more than graduates of most biology programs nationally, $39,724 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $16,625 in federal loans, less than at 92% of biology programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying biology degrees in Kansas.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Kansas and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Cleveland University-Kansas City graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,579 less than the Kansas median. Several Kansas programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Kansas biology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Kansas 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 36% 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 $176 a month, or 5.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Kansas City area are about 7% below the national average, so a $39,724 salary here buys what about $42,925 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
$59,920Median pay in Kansas. 10,860 people work in this job in Kansas. 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
$84,490Median pay in Kansas. 1,070 people work in this job in Kansas. 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
$153,820Median pay in Kansas. 240 people work in this job in Kansas. 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
$51,630Median pay in Kansas. 480 people work in this job in Kansas. 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 Cleveland University-Kansas City
Biology is the only bachelor's program at Cleveland University-Kansas City that reports first-year earnings.
Other biology bachelor's programs near Overland Park
Common questions
The median graduate earns $39,724 one year after graduating and $53,953 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in Kansas is $34,495.
The median federal loan balance is $16,625, which ranks the lowest of 8 biology bachelor's programs in Kansas. That works out to about $176 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 42% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%.
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 Kansas 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