IU South Bend Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biology, General
- Public university
- South Bend, IN
- About 26 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
IU South Bend biology graduates earn more than graduates of most biology programs nationally, $38,242 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,500 in federal loans, more than at 92% of biology programs in the country. Several Indiana programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Indiana and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, IU South Bend graduates earn less than the national figure and about $8,451 less than the Indiana median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Indiana biology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Indiana 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 33% 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 $292 a month, or 9.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
88% of graduates (23 of 26) were working in Indiana one year after graduating. Prices in the South Bend area are about 7% below the national average, so a $38,242 salary here buys what about $41,183 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
$61,880Median pay in Indiana. 20,430 people work in this job in Indiana. 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
$81,110Median pay in Indiana. 2,010 people work in this job in Indiana. 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
$108,250Median pay in Indiana. 1,670 people work in this job in Indiana. 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
$58,790Median pay in Indiana. 1,020 people work in this job in Indiana. 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 IU South Bend
Biology ranks 7th of 15 bachelor's programs at IU South Bend by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($67,253), Dental Hygiene and Assisting ($55,314), and Computer Science ($53,743).
Other biology bachelor's programs near South Bend
Common questions
The median graduate earns $38,242 one year after graduating and $50,867 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in Indiana is $36,161.
The median federal loan balance is $27,500, which ranks 17th lowest of 17 biology bachelor's programs in Indiana. That works out to about $292 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 72% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Indiana programs report higher pay.
Most do. 88% (23 of 26) were working in Indiana 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 Indiana 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