Which Louisiana biology program has the lowest debt?

Southeastern Louisiana University reports the lowest median federal debt, $20,062, with first-year pay of $30,865.

How much do biology graduates earn in Louisiana?

The median across 14 Louisiana biology bachelor's programs is $26,121 in the first year after graduating and $50,054 five years after.

How many biology bachelor's programs are in Louisiana?

14 Louisiana programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 14 of them also report federal debt.

Biology (Bachelor's) Programs in Louisiana, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

14 programs report first-year pay
14 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Biology, General

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Louisiana biology bachelor's program pays its graduates $26,121 in their first year, $6,091 less than the national median. Southern University reports the highest first-year pay ($36,095), and Southeastern Louisiana University the lowest median debt ($20,062).

Median first-year pay$26,121National $32,212

Median pay after 5 years$50,054National $60,596

Median federal debt$22,709National $25,000

Debt-to-earnings93%National 75%

All 14 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Southern UniversityBaton Rouge · public	$36,095	$45,773	$33,000	91%
2	University of New OrleansNew Orleans · public	$33,784	$52,009	$22,500	67%
3	Southeastern Louisiana UniversityHammond · public	$30,865	$47,728	$20,062	65%
4	Loyola University New OrleansNew Orleans · private nonprofit	$30,181	Not reported	$27,000	89%
5	McNeese StateLake Charles · public	$28,276	$58,995	$20,869	74%
6	Louisiana Tech UniversityRuston · public	$27,358	$47,164	$22,917	84%
7	Grambling StateGrambling · public	$27,164	$45,785	$33,187	122%
8	Northwestern State University of LouisianaNatchitoches · public	$25,078	$47,666	$26,821	107%
9	LSU ShreveportShreveport · public	$24,405	$51,705	$26,695	109%
10	Dillard UniversityNew Orleans · private nonprofit	$23,999	$48,297	$31,376	131%
11	Nicholls StateThibodaux · public	$23,672	$50,054	$22,187	94%
12	LSUBaton Rouge · public	$22,742	$63,433	$20,875	92%
13	UL LafayetteLafayette · public	$18,690	$57,937	$21,500	115%
14	Xavier University of LouisianaNew Orleans · private nonprofit	$17,761	$49,542	$25,887	146%

4 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Louisiana biology program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 14 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Southern University$36,095
University of New Orleans$33,784
Southeastern Louisiana University$30,865
Loyola University New Orleans$30,181
McNeese State$28,276

Lowest median debt

Southeastern Louisiana University$20,062
McNeese State$20,869
LSU$20,875
UL Lafayette$21,500
Nicholls State$22,187

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

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

$59,850

Median pay in Louisiana. 15,210 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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.

Bottom 10%: $47,590Top 10%: $79,720

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$103,410

Median pay nationwide. 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

$115,950

Median pay in Louisiana. 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.

Bottom 10%: $81,890Top 10%: $212,130

Biological Technicians

$47,310

Median pay in Louisiana. 190 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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.

Bottom 10%: $32,390Top 10%: $77,400

Common questions

Southern University in Baton Rouge reports the highest median first-year pay, $36,095. Its median federal debt is $33,000.

Biology (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked795 programs by pay and debt

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.
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 Louisiana rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the biology bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024