Which Massachusetts biology program has the lowest debt?

Wellesley College reports the lowest median federal debt, $10,159, with first-year pay of $36,621.

How much do biology graduates earn in Massachusetts?

The median across 32 Massachusetts biology bachelor's programs is $41,879 in the first year after graduating and $67,969 five years after.

How many biology bachelor's programs are in Massachusetts?

32 Massachusetts programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 32 of them also report federal debt.

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

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

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Massachusetts biology bachelor's program pays its graduates $41,879 in their first year, $9,667 more than the national median. WPI reports the highest first-year pay ($51,711), and Wellesley College the lowest median debt ($10,159).

Median first-year pay$41,879National $32,212

Median pay after 5 years$67,969National $60,596

Median federal debt$27,000National $25,000

Debt-to-earnings60%National 75%

All 32 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	WPIWorcester · private nonprofit	$51,711	$82,976	$26,999	52%
2	Curry CollegeMilton · private nonprofit	$46,736	Not reported	$27,000	58%
3	UMass LowellLowell · public	$46,526	$77,274	$26,747	57%
4	Stonehill CollegeEaston · private nonprofit	$46,088	$72,757	$27,000	59%
5	Salem StateSalem · public	$45,670	$73,807	$27,000	59%
6	Northeastern UniversityBoston · private nonprofit	$45,494	$97,536	$25,000	55%
7	Emmanuel CollegeBoston · private nonprofit	$45,275	$83,922	$27,000	60%
8	Bridgewater StateBridgewater · public	$44,626	$62,139	$27,000	61%
9	Worcester StateWorcester · public	$44,450	$67,630	$23,625	53%
10	Regis CollegeWeston · private nonprofit	$43,589	Not reported	$27,000	62%
11	College of the Holy CrossWorcester · private nonprofit	$43,276	$79,688	$27,000	62%
12	Suffolk UniversityBoston · private nonprofit	$42,852	$53,943	$27,000	63%
13	Westfield StateWestfield · public	$42,776	$64,665	$27,000	63%
14	UMass BostonBoston · public	$42,721	$67,991	$25,000	59%
15	Framingham StateFramingham · public	$42,472	Not reported	$24,999	59%
16	Assumption UniversityWorcester · private nonprofit	$42,252	$73,907	$27,000	64%
17	Merrimack CollegeNorth Andover · private nonprofit	$41,506	Not reported	$27,000	65%
18	Fitchburg StateFitchburg · public	$41,250	$70,713	$27,000	65%
19	Williams CollegeWilliamstown · private nonprofit	$41,213	Not reported	$13,454	33%
20	UMass DartmouthNorth Dartmouth · public	$41,204	$66,578	$26,614	65%
21	Bay Path UniversityLongmeadow · private nonprofit	$40,964	Not reported	$27,000	66%
22	UMass AmherstAmherst · public	$40,427	$68,103	$27,000	67%
23	Boston UniversityBoston · private nonprofit	$40,165	$67,946	$27,000	67%
24	Mount Holyoke CollegeSouth Hadley · private nonprofit	$39,270	$51,299	$22,260	57%
25	Tufts UniversityMedford · private nonprofit	$39,016	$76,053	$16,250	42%
26	Boston CollegeChestnut Hill · private nonprofit	$38,592	$80,290	$19,000	49%
27	Clark UniversityWorcester · private nonprofit	$37,590	$64,992	$26,084	69%
28	Brandeis UniversityWaltham · private nonprofit	$37,475	$66,306	$25,484	68%
29	Wellesley CollegeWellesley · private nonprofit	$36,621	$60,268	$10,159	28%
30	Gordon CollegeWenham · private nonprofit	$35,529	$49,453	$26,000	73%
31	Smith CollegeNorthampton · private nonprofit	$32,747	$48,329	$19,000	58%
32	Wheaton College (Massachusetts)Norton · private nonprofit	$26,661	$62,084	$24,000	90%

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

Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts biology program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 32 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

WPI$51,711
Curry College$46,736
UMass Lowell$46,526
Stonehill College$46,088
Salem State$45,670

Lowest median debt

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

$95,260

Median pay in Massachusetts. 28,460 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $61,500Top 10%: $122,660

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$128,210

Median pay in Massachusetts. 17,100 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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.

Bottom 10%: $77,790Top 10%: $208,490

Natural Sciences Managers

$267,290

Median pay in Massachusetts. 10,590 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $153,490Top 10%: $329,820

Biological Technicians

$62,070

Median pay in Massachusetts. 8,430 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $49,880Top 10%: $94,760

Common questions

WPI in Worcester reports the highest median first-year pay, $51,711. Its median federal debt is $26,999.

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 Massachusetts 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