Medicine: earnings, debt, and careers
CIP 51.12. Official graduate outcomes from the U.S. Department of Education across 311 programs, and the careers this field is linked to.
Graduate earnings by credential level
| Credential | Programs | Graduates (recent year) | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Typical program median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate certificate | 4 | 0 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| Associate's degree | 1 | 0 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| Bachelor's degree | 10 | 0 | $36,015 | $66,978 | $15,615 1 programs |
| Master's degree | 11 | 0 | $50,663 | $107,321 | Data unavailable |
| Doctoral degree | 49 | 0 | $65,115 | $118,504 | Data unavailable |
| Professional degree (JD, MD, and similar) | 219 | 29,702 | $65,104 | $112,460 | Data unavailable |
| Graduate certificate | 17 | 35 | $38,006 | $69,462 | Data unavailable |
National earnings are published by the Department of Education for each field and credential level Verified data. Typical program median debt is ConnectPrep's calculation: the median across programs of each program's median federal debt Calculated estimate. It covers federal loans only.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Field of Study Data. Varies by measure; see measure definitions. Published October 15, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.
Bachelor's degree programs with the highest early earnings
| School | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ · Public · 154 graduates measured | $33,921 | $66,899 | $15,615 |
Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.
Master's degree programs with the highest early earnings
| School | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jagiellonian University Medical College · Foreign · 20 graduates measured | $61,599 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.
Doctoral degree programs with the highest early earnings
| School | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NY · Private, nonprofit · 159 graduates measured | $82,190 | $104,361 | Data unavailable |
| University of Southern California CA · Private, nonprofit · 19 graduates measured | $78,370 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| Yale University CT · Private, nonprofit · 108 graduates measured | $78,069 | $100,955 | Data unavailable |
| University of California-San Diego CA · Public · 171 graduates measured | $77,325 | $118,330 | Data unavailable |
| California University of Science and Medicine CA · Private, nonprofit · 35 graduates measured | $76,706 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University NY · Public · 298 graduates measured | $76,098 | $102,323 | Data unavailable |
| University of California-Riverside CA · Public · 114 graduates measured | $75,691 | $128,469 | Data unavailable |
| Quinnipiac University CT · Private, nonprofit · 170 graduates measured | $69,329 | $108,362 | Data unavailable |
| Duke University NC · Private, nonprofit · 158 graduates measured | $67,376 | $92,928 | Data unavailable |
| University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School MA · Public · 271 graduates measured | $67,280 | $105,854 | Data unavailable |
| Rowan University NJ · Public · 482 graduates measured | $66,872 | $116,089 | Data unavailable |
| Samuel Merritt University CA · Private, nonprofit · 73 graduates measured | $66,461 | $165,829 | Data unavailable |
| Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine PA · Private, nonprofit · 191 graduates measured | $65,914 | $116,849 | Data unavailable |
| University of New England ME · Private, nonprofit · 290 graduates measured | $65,648 | $129,270 | Data unavailable |
| Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science IL · Private, nonprofit · 454 graduates measured | $65,294 | $120,036 | Data unavailable |
Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.
Professional degree (JD, MD, and similar) programs with the highest early earnings
| School | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford University CA · Private, nonprofit · 91 graduates measured | $86,231 | $114,132 | Data unavailable |
| Harvard University MA · Private, nonprofit · 179 graduates measured | $81,073 | $108,149 | Data unavailable |
| University of California-San Francisco CA · Public · 221 graduates measured | $80,674 | $112,089 | Data unavailable |
| Columbia University in the City of New York NY · Private, nonprofit · 179 graduates measured | $79,570 | $106,442 | Data unavailable |
| Hofstra University NY · Private, nonprofit · 145 graduates measured | $79,448 | $99,911 | Data unavailable |
| University of Southern California CA · Private, nonprofit · 237 graduates measured | $79,316 | $105,882 | Data unavailable |
| CUNY City College NY · Public · 102 graduates measured | $79,011 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| New York University NY · Private, nonprofit · 56 graduates measured | $78,686 | $93,412 | Data unavailable |
| Albert Einstein College of Medicine NY · Private, nonprofit · 244 graduates measured | $78,207 | $102,727 | Data unavailable |
| University of California-Los Angeles CA · Public · 191 graduates measured | $77,614 | $143,434 | Data unavailable |
| University of California-Irvine CA · Public · 146 graduates measured | $77,316 | $143,530 | Data unavailable |
| University of California-Davis CA · Public · 200 graduates measured | $77,214 | $144,130 | Data unavailable |
| New York Medical College NY · Private, nonprofit · 340 graduates measured | $73,742 | $95,053 | Data unavailable |
| New York College of Podiatric Medicine NY · Private, nonprofit · 121 graduates measured | $73,159 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| Stony Brook University NY · Public · 196 graduates measured | $71,922 | $99,252 | Data unavailable |
Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.
Graduate certificate programs with the highest early earnings
| School | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan Bautista School of Medicine PR · Private, nonprofit · 74 graduates measured | $57,256 | $76,434 | Data unavailable |
| Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara · Foreign · 243 graduates measured | $30,611 | $60,371 | Data unavailable |
Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.
Careers linked to Medicine
| Occupation | Median wage, all workers | Change 2025 to 2035 | Typical entry education |
|---|---|---|---|
| Podiatrists | $160,300 | +2.0% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Anesthesiologists | $391,490 | +3.6% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Cardiologists | $496,010 | +4.8% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Dermatologists | $328,730 | +6.8% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Emergency medicine physicians | $335,550 | +3.2% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Family medicine physicians | $244,180 | +3.3% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| General internal medicine physicians | $256,560 | +4.0% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Neurologists | $248,560 | +6.4% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Obstetricians and gynecologists | $292,910 | +1.7% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Pediatricians, general | $210,040 | +1.5% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Physicians, pathologists | $312,400 | +4.8% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Psychiatrists | $281,870 | +7.2% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Radiologists | $420,860 | +3.4% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Physicians, all other | $265,930 | +3.4% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Ophthalmologists, except pediatric | $300,080 | +4.5% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric | $358,550 | +4.0% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Pediatric surgeons | $559,030 | +2.0% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Surgeons, all other | $414,010 | +4.0% | Doctoral or professional degree |
Occupations mapped to this field in the NCES and BLS CIP to SOC crosswalk. Occupation wages describe all workers, not recent graduates.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk. CIP 2020 and SOC 2018 taxonomies. Published April 30, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, National. May 2025 reference period. Published April 30, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, Table 1.2: Occupational projections, 2025-35, and worker characteristics, 2025. Base year 2025, projected year 2035. Published August 27, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.
Detailed CIP codes in this field (4)
- 51.1201 Medicine
- 51.1202 Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy
- 51.1203 Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry
- 51.1299 Medicine, Other