Which Rhode Island biology program has the lowest debt?

Brown University reports the lowest median federal debt, $13,000, with first-year pay of $36,084.

How much do biology graduates earn in Rhode Island?

The median across 7 Rhode Island biology bachelor's programs is $39,910 in the first year after graduating and $74,984 five years after.

How many biology bachelor's programs are in Rhode Island?

7 Rhode Island programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 7 of them also report federal debt.

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

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

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Rhode Island biology bachelor's program pays its graduates $39,910 in their first year, $7,698 more than the national median. Roger Williams University reports the highest first-year pay ($47,799), and Brown University the lowest median debt ($13,000).

Median first-year pay$39,910National $32,212

Median pay after 5 years$74,984National $60,596

Median federal debt$26,975National $25,000

Debt-to-earnings67%National 75%

All 7 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	Roger Williams UniversityBristol · private nonprofit	$47,799	Not reported	$27,000	56%
2	University of Rhode IslandKingston · public	$45,846	$74,984	$24,215	53%
3	Salve Regina UniversityNewport · private nonprofit	$40,525	$80,343	$27,000	67%
4	Rhode Island CollegeProvidence · public	$39,910	$68,594	$26,949	68%
5	Providence CollegeProvidence · private nonprofit	$39,616	$88,809	$27,000	68%
6	Brown UniversityProvidence · private nonprofit	$36,084	$65,144	$13,000	36%
7	Johnson & Wales University-ProvidenceProvidence · private nonprofit	$29,405	Not reported	$25,350	86%

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Rhode Island biology program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 7 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Brown University$13,000
University of Rhode Island$24,215
Johnson & Wales University-Providence$25,350
Rhode Island College$26,949
Roger Williams University$27,000

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

$92,610

Median pay in Rhode Island. 4,910 people work in this job in Rhode Island. 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%: $51,670Top 10%: $100,370

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$103,370

Median pay in Rhode Island. 670 people work in this job in Rhode Island. 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%: $66,370Top 10%: $218,940

Natural Sciences Managers

$130,480

Median pay in Rhode Island. 200 people work in this job in Rhode Island. 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%: $64,210Top 10%: $268,500

Biological Technicians

$45,530

Median pay in Rhode Island. 140 people work in this job in Rhode Island. 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%: $43,830Top 10%: $79,060

Common questions

Roger Williams University in Bristol reports the highest median first-year pay, $47,799. Its median federal debt is $27,000.

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 Rhode Island 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