UMGC Information Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Information Science/Studies
- Public university
- Adelphi, MD
- About 2,001 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UMGC information science graduates earn more than graduates of most information science programs nationally, $72,140 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,806 in federal loans, less than at 75% of information science programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying information science degrees in Maryland.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Maryland and national columns are the medians across all information science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, UMGC graduates earn more than the national figure and about $5,833 more than the Maryland median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Maryland information science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Maryland 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 36% 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 $10,985 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. 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 $221 a month, or 3.7% 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. Separately, 127 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $10,763.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
51% of graduates (506 of 998) were working in Maryland one year after graduating. Prices in the Washington area are about 9% above the national average, so a $72,140 salary here buys what about $66,254 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 information science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Software Developers
$138,680Median pay in Maryland. 31,350 people work in this job in Maryland. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 95,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Computer and Information Systems Managers
$171,490Median pay in Maryland. 14,620 people work in this job in Maryland. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 16% from 2025 to 2035, with about 53,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Web and Digital Interface Designers
$96,760Median pay in Maryland. 1,310 people work in this job in Maryland. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Database Architects
$132,940Median pay in Maryland. 1,370 people work in this job in Maryland. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
About UMGC
Information Science ranks 5th of 25 bachelor's programs at UMGC by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($92,323), Computer and Information Science ($75,619), and Public Administration ($74,053).
Other information science bachelor's programs near Adelphi
Common questions
The median graduate earns $72,140 one year after graduating and $98,155 five years after. The median across information science bachelor's programs in Maryland is $61,290.
The median federal loan balance is $20,806, which ranks 3rd lowest of 7 information science bachelor's programs in Maryland. That works out to about $221 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 29% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 41%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 5% or less.
Most do. 51% (506 of 998) were working in Maryland 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 Maryland 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 information science 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