Rhode Island College Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biology, General
- Public college
- Providence, RI
- About 36 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Rhode Island College biology graduates earn more than graduates of most biology programs nationally, $39,910 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $26,949 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several Rhode Island programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Rhode Island and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Rhode Island College graduates earn more than the national figure but about $6,390 less than the Rhode Island median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Rhode Island biology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Rhode Island 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 72% 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 $286 a month, or 8.6% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
76% of graduates (28 of 37) were working in Rhode Island one year after graduating. Prices in the Providence area are about 2% above the national average, so a $39,910 salary here buys what about $39,215 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
$92,610Median pay in Rhode Island. 4,910 people work in this job in Rhode Island. 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
$103,370Median pay in Rhode Island. 670 people work in this job in Rhode Island. 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
$130,480Median pay in Rhode Island. 200 people work in this job in Rhode Island. 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
$45,530Median pay in Rhode Island. 140 people work in this job in Rhode Island. 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 Rhode Island College
Biology ranks 12th of 31 bachelor's programs at Rhode Island College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($73,235), Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($60,999), and Computer Science ($60,361).
Other biology bachelor's programs near Providence
Common questions
The median graduate earns $39,910 one year after graduating and $68,594 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in Rhode Island is $39,910.
The median federal loan balance is $26,949, which ranks 4th lowest of 7 biology bachelor's programs in Rhode Island. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 68% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Rhode Island programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 76% (28 of 37) were working in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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