University of South Alabama Civil Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Civil Engineering
- Public university
- Mobile, AL
- About 36 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of South Alabama civil engineering graduates earn less than graduates of most civil engineering programs nationally, $59,547 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $28,000 in federal loans, more than at 91% of civil engineering programs in the country. Several Alabama programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Alabama and national columns are the medians across all civil engineering bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University of South Alabama graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the Alabama median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Alabama civil engineering program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Alabama 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 46% 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 about the same in their first year as other graduates. They also borrowed less. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $297 a month, or 6.0% 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, 20 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $39,234.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
66% of graduates (38 of 58) were working in Alabama one year after graduating. Prices in the Mobile area are about 12% below the national average, so a $59,547 salary here buys what about $67,592 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 civil engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Civil Engineers
$99,010Median pay in Alabama. 5,370 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 22,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$162,350Median pay in Alabama. 3,790 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Environmental Engineers
$102,650Median pay in Alabama. 780 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Petroleum Engineers
$144,910Median pay nationwide. 50 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About University of South Alabama
Civil Engineering ranks 7th of 31 bachelor's programs at University of South Alabama by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($81,499), Chemical Engineering ($71,116), and Nursing ($69,447).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $59,547 one year after graduating and $86,917 five years after. The median across civil engineering bachelor's programs in Alabama is $64,122.
The median federal loan balance is $28,000, which ranks 5th lowest of 5 civil engineering bachelor's programs in Alabama. That works out to about $297 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 47% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 35%. Compare the cost with other Alabama programs before deciding.
Most do. 66% (38 of 58) were working in Alabama 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 Alabama 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 civil engineering 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