University of Mary Washington Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biology, General
- Public university
- Fredericksburg, VA
- About 84 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of Mary Washington biology graduates earn about what biology graduates earn nationally, $35,194 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $22,567 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. It is one of the higher-paying biology degrees in Virginia.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Virginia and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University of Mary Washington graduates earn more than the national figure and about $2,872 more than the Virginia median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia biology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Virginia 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 79% 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 slightly more in their first year than other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $23,500 against $20,500.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $239 a month, or 8.1% 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
85% of graduates (45 of 53) were working in Virginia one year after graduating. Prices in the Washington area are about 9% above the national average, so a $35,194 salary here buys what about $32,322 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
$72,170Median pay in Virginia. 31,100 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$93,620Median pay in Virginia. 4,560 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$150,570Median pay in Virginia. 1,470 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$53,360Median pay in Virginia. 1,820 people work in this job in Virginia. 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 University of Mary Washington
Biology ranks 10th of 17 bachelor's programs at University of Mary Washington by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($76,301), Nursing ($76,013), and Mathematics ($61,247).
Other biology bachelor's programs near Fredericksburg
Common questions
The median graduate earns $35,194 one year after graduating and $62,967 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in Virginia is $32,457.
The median federal loan balance is $22,567, which ranks 7th lowest of 25 biology bachelor's programs in Virginia. That works out to about $239 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 64% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Virginia programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 85% (45 of 53) were working in Virginia 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 Virginia 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