Florida Gulf Coast University Health Sciences (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General
- Public university
- Fort Myers, FL
- About 198 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Florida Gulf Coast University health sciences graduates earn about what health sciences graduates earn nationally, $33,871 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $18,772 in federal loans, less than at 90% of health sciences programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying health sciences degrees in Florida.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Florida and national columns are the medians across all health sciences bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Florida Gulf Coast University graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Florida median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Florida health sciences program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Florida 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 58% 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 about the same in their first year as other graduates. They also borrowed less. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $199 a month, or 7.1% 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, 27 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $17,903.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
94% of graduates (104 of 111) were working in Florida one year after graduating. Prices in the Cape Coral area are about 2% above the national average, so a $33,871 salary here buys what about $33,094 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 health sciences, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Health Education Specialists
$46,360Median pay in Florida. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Community Health Workers
$45,420Median pay in Florida. 1,220 people work in this job in Florida. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
About Florida Gulf Coast University
Health Sciences ranks 27th of 34 bachelor's programs at Florida Gulf Coast University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($70,964), Civil Engineering ($64,411), and Biomedical Engineering ($62,972).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $33,871 one year after graduating and $53,523 five years after. The median across health sciences bachelor's programs in Florida is $31,182.
The median federal loan balance is $18,772, which ranks 3rd lowest of 14 health sciences bachelor's programs in Florida. That works out to about $199 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 55% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Florida programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 94% (104 of 111) were working in Florida 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 Florida 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 health sciences 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