Which USC major has the lowest debt?

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology graduates leave with a median of $3,750 in federal loans, the lowest among 42 USC bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does USC cost?

Tuition and fees are $72,097 a year for all students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $32,740 a year.

How many USC programs report graduate pay?

43 bachelor's programs at USC report first-year pay, and 42 of them also report federal debt.

USC Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

University of Southern California
Private nonprofit university
Los Angeles, CA
20,443 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

43 USC bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Computer Science pays the most in the first year ($137,284), and Music the least ($12,947). The median program pays $49,353.

Tuition and fees$72,097Per year, for all students

Average net price after aid$32,740Per year

Graduation rate92%Within 6 years

Admission rate10%Of applicants

All 43 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in California" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across California. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in California
1	Computer ScienceAbout 305 graduates a year	$137,284	$180,906	$20,178	5th of 39
2	Software and Media ApplicationsAbout 36 graduates a year	$103,071	$165,219	$23,500	1st of 3
3	Real EstateGraduates a year not reported	$98,763	$145,650	$19,500	1st of 3
4	Electrical EngineeringAbout 6 graduates a year	$89,684	$123,215	$20,500	4th of 21
5	Industrial EngineeringAbout 71 graduates a year	$87,807	$137,590	$18,250	1st of 4
6	Civil EngineeringAbout 28 graduates a year	$85,262	$116,779	$8,125	2nd of 20
7	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 101 graduates a year	$83,356	$107,591	$17,500	3rd of 26
8	Biomedical EngineeringAbout 52 graduates a year	$80,508	$112,503	$14,500	2nd of 15
9	Aerospace EngineeringAbout 55 graduates a year	$78,980	$113,915	$21,140	2nd of 9
10	AccountingGraduates a year not reported	$73,903	$107,531	$16,500	2nd of 23
11	Engineering-Related FieldsAbout 29 graduates a year	$73,234	Not reported	$19,250	2nd of 4
12	Business AdministrationGraduates a year not reported	$71,668	$104,833	$17,375	4th of 57
13	Applied MathematicsAbout 126 graduates a year	$71,622	$94,658	$12,251	2nd of 8
14	Dental Hygiene and AssistingGraduates a year not reported	$69,479	$81,034	$31,250	2nd of 3
15	Chemical EngineeringAbout 41 graduates a year	$68,234	$106,401	$13,000	7th of 10
16	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 67 graduates a year	$64,846	$79,947	$18,262	1st of 27
17	EconomicsAbout 178 graduates a year	$57,060	$98,555	$14,000	13th of 35
18	Public PolicyAbout 41 graduates a year	$52,403	Not reported	$18,000	1st of 3
19	International RelationsAbout 145 graduates a year	$52,262	$87,675	$13,765	2nd of 12
20	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 55 graduates a year	$50,161	$61,391	$21,125	1st of 29
21	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 80 graduates a year	$50,041	$70,555	$20,251	2nd of 10
22	Real Estate DevelopmentAbout 95 graduates a year	$49,353	Not reported	$17,000	1st of 1
23	Architectural TechnologyAbout 65 graduates a year	$47,874	Not reported	$30,625	2nd of 3
24	CommunicationsAbout 269 graduates a year	$47,651	$77,431	$17,702	4th of 39
25	JournalismAbout 97 graduates a year	$44,651	$73,113	$16,250	2nd of 14
26	PhilosophyAbout 77 graduates a year	$38,380	$95,023	$11,491	1st of 15
27	NeuroscienceAbout 83 graduates a year	$38,063	$78,242	$15,750	2nd of 9
27	Political ScienceAbout 132 graduates a year	$38,063	$78,005	$12,869	13th of 44
29	HistoryAbout 77 graduates a year	$36,876	$70,904	$12,638	3rd of 30
30	Public HealthAbout 109 graduates a year	$36,300	$81,522	$15,250	11th of 16
31	SociologyAbout 66 graduates a year	$35,580	$67,128	$10,324	18th of 42
32	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 31 graduates a year	$34,468	$88,746	$3,750	16th of 19
33	Cognitive ScienceAbout 44 graduates a year	$34,295	Not reported	$19,669	7th of 8
34	Film and PhotographyAbout 178 graduates a year	$34,187	$53,923	$21,687	2nd of 25
35	PsychologyAbout 189 graduates a year	$34,139	$67,060	$14,000	12th of 54
36	Social SciencesAbout 18 graduates a year	$33,789	$59,488	Not reported	7th of 10
37	Arts ManagementAbout 79 graduates a year	$26,975	$42,388	$21,250	1st of 2
38	Writing and RhetoricAbout 41 graduates a year	$26,636	$66,177	$19,500	6th of 10
39	DanceAbout 18 graduates a year	$25,653	Not reported	$15,875	3rd of 7
40	Human BiologyAbout 241 graduates a year	$23,405	$80,692	$14,500	3rd of 4
41	TheatreAbout 150 graduates a year	$21,473	$30,649	$12,000	10th of 23
42	BiologyAbout 71 graduates a year	$20,210	$77,275	$5,500	45th of 47
43	MusicAbout 71 graduates a year	$12,947	$24,763	$20,976	24th of 24

Program names link to the program's own page, and California ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five California programs in the field do too.

10 more bachelor's programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Computer Science$137,284
Software and Media Applications$103,071
Real Estate$98,763
Electrical Engineering$89,684
Industrial Engineering$87,807

Lowest median debt

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology$3,750
Biology$5,500
Civil Engineering$8,125
Sociology$10,324
Philosophy$11,491

Largest programs

Computer ScienceAbout 305 graduates a year
CommunicationsAbout 269 graduates a year
Human BiologyAbout 241 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 189 graduates a year
EconomicsAbout 178 graduates a year

Common questions

Computer Science graduates earn a median of $137,284 in their first year, the most of 43 USC bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
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 California rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels