Metropolitan State University of Denver Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biology, General
- Public university
- Denver, CO
- About 134 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Metropolitan State University of Denver biology graduates earn more than graduates of most biology programs nationally, $41,018 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $29,587 in federal loans, more than at 96% of biology programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying biology degrees in Colorado.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Colorado and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Metropolitan State University of Denver graduates earn less than the national figure but about $2,564 more than the Colorado median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Colorado biology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Colorado 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 39% 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, but borrowed more: a median of $32,500 against $25,750.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $314 a month, or 9.2% 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, 38 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $12,285.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
85% of graduates (152 of 178) were working in Colorado one year after graduating. Prices in the Denver area are about 6% above the national average, so a $41,018 salary here buys what about $38,776 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
$72,900Median pay in Colorado. 18,310 people work in this job in Colorado. 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
$103,410Median pay nationwide. 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
$152,730Median pay in Colorado. 1,640 people work in this job in Colorado. 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
$59,400Median pay in Colorado. 1,990 people work in this job in Colorado. 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 Metropolitan State University of Denver
Biology ranks 27th of 48 bachelor's programs at Metropolitan State University of Denver by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($77,333), Electrical Engineering Technology ($75,966), and Computer Science ($73,874).
Other biology bachelor's programs near Denver
Common questions
The median graduate earns $41,018 one year after graduating and $56,962 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in Colorado is $34,562.
The median federal loan balance is $29,587, which ranks 11th lowest of 11 biology bachelor's programs in Colorado. That works out to about $314 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%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 5% or less.
Most do. 85% (152 of 178) were working in Colorado 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 Colorado 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