University at Buffalo Communication Sciences and Disorders (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
- Public university
- Buffalo, NY
- About 42 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University at Buffalo communication sciences and disorders graduates earn about what communication sciences and disorders graduates earn nationally, $24,952 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $21,944 in federal loans, close to the national median of $22,217. Several New York programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all communication sciences and disorders bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University at Buffalo graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the New York median.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York communication sciences and disorders program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York 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 184% 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 $233 a month, or 11.2% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
89% of graduates (25 of 28) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the Buffalo area are about 4% below the national average, so a $24,952 salary here buys what about $26,034 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 communication sciences and disorders, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Speech-Language Pathologists
$100,610Median pay in New York. 15,310 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 17% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Audiologists
$100,860Median pay in New York. 690 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 600 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
About University at Buffalo
Communication Sciences and Disorders ranks 37th of 40 bachelor's programs at University at Buffalo by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($78,621), Computer Engineering ($74,753), and Electrical Engineering ($74,205).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $24,952 one year after graduating and $70,928 five years after. The median across communication sciences and disorders bachelor's programs in New York is $24,952.
The median federal loan balance is $21,944, which ranks 4th lowest of 7 communication sciences and disorders bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $233 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 88% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 80%. Compare the cost with other New York programs before deciding.
Most do. 89% (25 of 28) were working in New York 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 New York 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 communication sciences and disorders 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