USF Social Sciences (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Social Sciences, General
- Public university
- Tampa, FL
- About 112 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
USF social sciences graduates earn about what social sciences graduates earn nationally, $34,427 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,095 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,409. One other Florida program reports higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Florida and national columns are the medians across all social sciences bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, USF graduates earn less than the national figure and about $3,569 less than the Florida median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Florida social sciences program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Florida 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 33% 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 $2,184 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 $255 a month, or 8.9% 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, 24 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $11,238.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
89% of graduates (135 of 152) were working in Florida one year after graduating. Prices in the Tampa area are about 1% above the national average, so a $34,427 salary here buys what about $34,123 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 social sciences, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
$58,930Median pay in Florida. 79,090 people work in this job in Florida. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 87,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$60,410Median pay in Florida. 49,810 people work in this job in Florida. 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.
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$58,940Median pay in Florida. 31,370 people work in this job in Florida. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Social Science Research Assistants
$50,700Median pay in Florida. 1,130 people work in this job in Florida. 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.
About USF
Social Sciences ranks 34th of 54 bachelor's programs at USF by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($83,660), Electrical Engineering ($78,825), and Nursing ($72,879).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $34,427 one year after graduating and $45,753 five years after. The median across social sciences bachelor's programs in Florida is $34,209.
The median federal loan balance is $24,095, which ranks 3rd lowest of 5 social sciences bachelor's programs in Florida. That works out to about $255 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 70% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other Florida programs before deciding.
Most do. 89% (135 of 152) were working in Florida 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 Florida 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 social sciences 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