How much debt do Notre Dame sociology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $19,800, which ranks 2nd lowest of 8 sociology bachelor's programs in Indiana. That works out to about $210 a month over 10 years.

Is a sociology degree from Notre Dame worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 55% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%.

Notre Dame Sociology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Sociology
Private nonprofit university
Notre Dame, IN
About 40 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Notre Dame sociology graduates earn about what sociology graduates earn nationally, $35,915 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $19,800 in federal loans, less than at 81% of sociology programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying sociology degrees in Indiana.

First-year earnings$35,91563rd percentile of 397 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$88,792147% more than year one

Median federal debt$19,8002nd lowest of 8 Indiana programs

Debt-to-earnings55%Indiana median 66%, national 72%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Indiana and national columns are the medians across all sociology bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Notre Dame	Indiana	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$35,915	$34,154	$34,099
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$88,792	$50,157	$50,382
Median federal debt at graduation	$19,800	$21,596	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	55%	66%	72%
Programs compared		10	397

Five years out, Notre Dame graduates earn more than the national figure and about $38,635 more than the Indiana median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Indiana sociology program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Indiana medians.

Notre DameOther Indiana programs

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 147% between the first and fifth year.

Notre Dame grads, year 1$35,915

Notre Dame grads, year 5$88,792

All Indiana sociology grads, year 5$50,157

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 $210 a month, or 7.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the South Bend area are about 7% below the national average, so a $35,915 salary here buys what about $38,677 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 sociology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Social Science Research Assistants

$57,020

Median pay in Indiana. 210 people work in this job in Indiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $30,580Top 10%: $105,750

Sociologists

$106,030

Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 200 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

About Notre Dame

Tuition and fees	$65,025 / year
Average net price after aid	$26,780 / year
Admission rate	11%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	95%
Undergraduate students	8,818

Sociology ranks 29th of 32 bachelor's programs at Notre Dame by first-year earnings. The top three are Finance ($99,222), Computer and Information Science ($96,517), and Other Mathematics ($89,689).

Other sociology bachelor's programs near Notre Dame

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Notre DameNotre Dame, IN · private nonprofit		$35,915	$19,800
Western Michigan UniversityKalamazoo, MI · public	51 mi	$35,399	$25,585

Common questions

The median graduate earns $35,915 one year after graduating and $88,792 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in Indiana is $34,154.

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 Indiana 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 sociology 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

Sociology bachelor's programs in Indiana, ranked10 programs by pay and debt Sociology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked397 programs by pay and debt All Notre Dame programs, ranked32 programs by pay and debt