How much debt do Governors State biology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $31,250, which ranks 27th lowest of 27 biology bachelor's programs in Illinois. That works out to about $331 a month over 10 years.

Is a biology degree from Governors State worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 72% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%.

Governors State Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: Do Governors State biology graduates stay in Illinois?

Most do. 81% (17 of 21) were working in Illinois one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Biology, General
Public university
University Park, IL
About 11 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Governors State biology graduates earn more than graduates of most biology programs nationally, $43,641 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $31,250 in federal loans, more than at 98% of biology programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying biology degrees in Illinois.

First-year earnings$43,64196th percentile of 795 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$62,13242% more than year one

Median federal debt$31,25027th lowest of 27 Illinois programs

Debt-to-earnings72%Illinois median 78%, national 75%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Illinois and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Governors State	Illinois	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$43,641	$32,844	$32,212
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$62,132	$62,046	$60,596
Median federal debt at graduation	$31,250	$26,250	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	72%	78%	75%
Programs compared		27	795

Five years out, Governors State graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the Illinois median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois biology program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Illinois medians.

Governors StateOther Illinois programs

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 42% between the first and fifth year.

Governors State grads, year 1$43,641

Governors State grads, year 5$62,132

All Illinois biology grads, year 5$62,046

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 $331 a month, or 9.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

81% of graduates (17 of 21) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $43,641 salary here buys what about $42,127 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

$79,990

Median pay in Illinois. 44,670 people work in this job in Illinois. 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.

Bottom 10%: $49,020Top 10%: $135,960

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$82,330

Median pay in Illinois. 4,700 people work in this job in Illinois. 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.

Bottom 10%: $59,550Top 10%: $143,890

Natural Sciences Managers

$159,670

Median pay in Illinois. 2,810 people work in this job in Illinois. 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.

Bottom 10%: $85,210Top 10%: $281,660

Biological Technicians

$55,790

Median pay in Illinois. 790 people work in this job in Illinois. 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.

Bottom 10%: $36,230Top 10%: $79,440

About Governors State

Tuition and fees	$12,004 / year
Average net price after aid	$12,329 / year
Admission rate	48%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	22%
Undergraduate students	2,556

Biology ranks 9th of 15 bachelor's programs at Governors State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($80,391), Computer Science ($52,115), and Computer and Information Science ($48,567).

Other biology bachelor's programs near University Park

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Governors StateUniversity Park, IL · public		$43,641	$31,250
Purdue NorthwestHammond, IN · public	16 mi	$33,155	$24,750
Saint Xavier UniversityChicago, IL · private nonprofit	18 mi	$37,977	$26,939
Lewis UniversityRomeoville, IL · private nonprofit	22 mi	$35,948	$26,499
Olivet Nazarene UniversityBourbonnais, IL · private nonprofit	22 mi	$33,908	$26,000
University of ChicagoChicago, IL · private nonprofit	24 mi	$35,275	$13,500
UICChicago, IL · public	29 mi	$28,768	$18,000
Roosevelt UniversityChicago, IL · private nonprofit	30 mi	$27,462	$26,000
DePaul UniversityChicago, IL · private nonprofit	30 mi	$30,750	$27,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $43,641 one year after graduating and $62,132 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in Illinois is $32,844.

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 Illinois 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

Biology bachelor's programs in Illinois, ranked27 programs by pay and debt Biology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked795 programs by pay and debt All Governors State programs, ranked15 programs by pay and debt