University of Southern Maine Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biology, General
- Public university
- Portland, ME
- About 42 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of Southern Maine biology graduates earn more than graduates of most biology programs nationally, $43,722 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,125 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. It is one of the higher-paying biology degrees in Maine.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Maine and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University of Southern Maine graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the Maine median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Maine biology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Maine 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, but borrowed more: a median of $25,250 against $18,500.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $266 a month, or 7.3% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
81% of graduates (46 of 57) were working in Maine one year after graduating. Prices in the Portland area are about 2% above the national average, so a $43,722 salary here buys what about $42,924 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 biology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$64,880Median pay in Maine. 5,540 people work in this job in Maine. 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.
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
$93,730Median pay in Maine. 100 people work in this job in Maine. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Natural Sciences Managers
$141,360Median pay in Maine. 430 people work in this job in Maine. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Biological Technicians
$60,160Median pay in Maine. 510 people work in this job in Maine. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About University of Southern Maine
Biology ranks 13th of 29 bachelor's programs at University of Southern Maine by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($71,774), Nursing ($71,675), and Mechanical Engineering ($68,318).
Other biology bachelor's programs near Portland
Common questions
The median graduate earns $43,722 one year after graduating and $63,868 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in Maine is $34,470.
The median federal loan balance is $25,125, which ranks 2nd lowest of 5 biology bachelor's programs in Maine. That works out to about $266 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 57% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%.
Most do. 81% (46 of 57) were working in Maine 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 Maine 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 biology 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