Which CU Boulder major has the lowest debt?

Biochemical Engineering graduates leave with a median of $15,000 in federal loans, the lowest among 38 CU Boulder bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does CU Boulder cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $15,666 a year, and $44,918 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $25,346 a year.

How many CU Boulder programs report graduate pay?

39 bachelor's programs at CU Boulder report first-year pay, and 38 of them also report federal debt.

CU Boulder Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

University of Colorado Boulder
Public university
Boulder, CO
31,939 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

39 CU Boulder bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Electrical Engineering pays the most in the first year ($88,957), and Fine and Studio Arts the least ($17,501). The median program pays $41,874.

In-state tuition and fees$15,666Per year. Out-of-state $44,918

Average net price after aid$25,346Per year

Graduation rate74%Within 6 years

Admission rate78%Of applicants

All 39 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Colorado" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Colorado. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Colorado
1	Electrical EngineeringAbout 28 graduates a year	$88,957	$107,891	$20,414	1st of 5
2	Computer EngineeringGraduates a year not reported	$86,211	$107,650	$23,000	1st of 3
3	Aerospace EngineeringAbout 218 graduates a year	$81,835	$103,431	$25,039	1st of 1
4	Computer ScienceAbout 483 graduates a year	$77,385	$122,521	$19,974	3rd of 7
5	Civil EngineeringAbout 50 graduates a year	$73,033	$85,000	$20,500	2nd of 4
6	Architectural EngineeringAbout 31 graduates a year	$72,567	$90,523	$15,165	1st of 1
7	Biochemical EngineeringAbout 62 graduates a year	$70,668	$99,194	$15,000	1st of 1
8	Chemical EngineeringAbout 44 graduates a year	$70,359	$115,257	$24,500	1st of 3
9	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 262 graduates a year	$66,089	$91,715	$20,500	4th of 6
10	Environmental EngineeringAbout 51 graduates a year	$63,049	$84,918	$20,836	3rd of 3
11	Business AdministrationAbout 1,201 graduates a year	$56,014	$91,156	$21,500	4th of 13
12	EconomicsAbout 272 graduates a year	$51,521	$79,838	$17,119	4th of 7
13	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 72 graduates a year	$50,474	$69,313	$20,185	1st of 4
14	Other Interdisciplinary StudiesGraduates a year not reported	$48,229	Not reported	$23,831	1st of 2
15	Geology and Earth ScienceAbout 20 graduates a year	$46,263	$61,825	$25,000	2nd of 3
16	Astronomy and AstrophysicsAbout 76 graduates a year	$45,066	$62,122	$22,324	1st of 1
17	Cell Biology and AnatomyAbout 146 graduates a year	$43,192	$63,623	$17,889	1st of 1
18	Environmental DesignAbout 129 graduates a year	$42,401	$68,017	$23,641	1st of 1
19	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 411 graduates a year	$42,218	Not reported	$19,433	1st of 2
20	PhysicsAbout 82 graduates a year	$41,874	$69,490	$20,635	2nd of 3
21	MathematicsAbout 99 graduates a year	$41,176	$82,787	$20,960	5th of 6
22	Political ScienceAbout 281 graduates a year	$39,954	$74,672	$19,500	2nd of 8
23	CommunicationsAbout 201 graduates a year	$39,738	$66,999	$17,500	2nd of 10
24	SociologyAbout 191 graduates a year	$37,958	$59,670	$17,819	5th of 10
25	Ecology and EvolutionAbout 194 graduates a year	$37,184	$55,519	$23,331	1st of 2
26	HistoryAbout 86 graduates a year	$37,044	$48,790	$17,905	4th of 8
27	AnthropologyAbout 66 graduates a year	$36,822	$49,958	$20,000	1st of 5
28	NeuroscienceAbout 147 graduates a year	$35,980	$69,375	$21,900	1st of 2
29	JournalismAbout 61 graduates a year	$34,022	$75,662	$15,750	3rd of 4
30	Physiology and PathologyAbout 351 graduates a year	$33,926	$67,874	$20,330	1st of 2
31	International StudiesAbout 122 graduates a year	$33,892	$54,974	$17,600	1st of 3
32	TheatreAbout 27 graduates a year	$32,142	$25,072	Not reported	1st of 6
33	GeographyGraduates a year not reported	$32,078	$55,326	$21,802	5th of 5
34	EnglishAbout 101 graduates a year	$31,825	$38,936	$19,522	5th of 10
35	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 206 graduates a year	$30,747	$63,863	$21,000	4th of 7
36	PsychologyAbout 585 graduates a year	$30,176	$58,599	$20,500	11th of 14
37	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 65 graduates a year	$24,628	$63,766	$19,000	3rd of 3
38	Film and PhotographyAbout 64 graduates a year	$22,601	$44,272	$20,000	1st of 1
39	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 69 graduates a year	$17,501	$40,219	$21,500	8th of 8

Program names link to the program's own page, and Colorado ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five Colorado programs in the field do too.

2 more bachelor's programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Electrical Engineering$88,957
Computer Engineering$86,211
Aerospace Engineering$81,835
Computer Science$77,385
Civil Engineering$73,033

Lowest median debt

Biochemical Engineering$15,000
Architectural Engineering$15,165
Journalism$15,750
Economics$17,119
Communications$17,500

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 1,201 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 585 graduates a year
Computer ScienceAbout 483 graduates a year
Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 411 graduates a year
Physiology and PathologyAbout 351 graduates a year

Common questions

Electrical Engineering graduates earn a median of $88,957 in their first year, the most of 39 CU Boulder bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels