Northwestern University Neuroscience (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Neurobiology and Neurosciences
- Private nonprofit university
- Evanston, IL
- About 113 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Northwestern University neuroscience graduates earn about what neuroscience graduates earn nationally, $35,334 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $16,948 in federal loans, less than at 84% of neuroscience programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying neuroscience degrees in Illinois.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Illinois and national columns are the medians across all neuroscience bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois neuroscience program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Illinois medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned slightly more in their first year than 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 $180 a month, or 6.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
64% of graduates (43 of 67) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $35,334 salary here buys what about $34,108 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 neuroscience, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
$82,330Median 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.
Natural Sciences Managers
$159,670Median 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.
Biological Technicians
$55,790Median 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.
About Northwestern University
Neuroscience ranks 24th of 29 bachelor's programs at Northwestern University by first-year earnings. The top three are Information Science ($102,998), Computer Science ($99,981), and Applied Mathematics ($94,684).
Other neuroscience bachelor's programs near Evanston
Common questions
The median graduate earns $35,334 one year after graduating. The median across neuroscience bachelor's programs in Illinois is $30,489.
The median federal loan balance is $16,948, which ranks the lowest of 5 neuroscience bachelor's programs in Illinois. That works out to about $180 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 48% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 74%.
Most do. 64% (43 of 67) were working in Illinois 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 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 neuroscience 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