Point Loma Nazarene University Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biology, General
- Private nonprofit university
- San Diego, CA
- About 40 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Point Loma Nazarene University biology graduates earn about what biology graduates earn nationally, $34,943 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,096 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several California programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Point Loma Nazarene University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $18,946 less than the California median. Several California programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every California biology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California 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 44% 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 $1,350 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $266 a month, or 9.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
19 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $23,300.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
83% of graduates (30 of 36) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the San Diego area are about 12% above the national average, so a $34,943 salary here buys what about $31,231 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
$101,370Median pay in California. 99,230 people work in this job in California. 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
$136,990Median pay in California. 29,830 people work in this job in California. 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
$210,230Median pay in California. 14,950 people work in this job in California. 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
$71,440Median pay in California. 9,210 people work in this job in California. 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 Point Loma Nazarene University
Biology ranks 8th of 12 bachelor's programs at Point Loma Nazarene University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($97,296), Computer and Information Science ($71,111), and Business Administration ($48,397).
Other biology bachelor's programs near San Diego
Common questions
The median graduate earns $34,943 one year after graduating and $50,216 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in California is $33,486.
The median federal loan balance is $25,096, which ranks 38th lowest of 47 biology bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $266 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 California programs report higher pay.
Most do. 83% (30 of 36) were working in California 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 California 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