Which Howard Community College associate's program has the lowest debt?

Liberal Arts and General Studies graduates leave with a median of $10,200 in federal loans, the lowest among 3 Howard Community College associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Howard Community College cost?

In-district tuition and fees are $4,080 a year, and $9,624 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $11,133 a year.

How many Howard Community College programs report graduate pay?

3 associate's programs and one certificate program at Howard Community College report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

Howard Community College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Columbia, MD
6,649 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

3 Howard Community College associate's programs report what graduates earn. Diagnostic and Treatment Professions pays the most in the first year ($72,633), and Liberal Arts and General Studies the least ($22,042). The median program pays $71,307. Howard Community College also has one certificate program that reports pay.

In-district tuition and fees$4,080Per year. Out-of-state $9,624

Average net price after aid$11,133Per year

Graduation rate24%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

All 3 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Maryland" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Maryland. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Maryland
1	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 46 graduates a year	$72,633	$76,865	$23,113	1st of 8
2	NursingAbout 151 graduates a year	$71,307	$81,504	$24,560	8th of 12
3	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 665 graduates a year	$22,042	$51,376	$10,200	13th of 15

Program names link to the program's own page, and Maryland ranks link to the full ranking for the field.

One more associate's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

One certificate program

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Maryland" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Maryland.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Maryland
Practical NursingAbout 21 graduates a year	$58,704	Not reported	$23,608	2nd of 6

Program names link to the program's own page, and Maryland ranks link to the full ranking for the field.

Common questions

Diagnostic and Treatment Professions graduates earn a median of $72,633 in their first year, the most of 3 Howard Community College associate's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
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 Maryland rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels