Bates College
Lewiston, Maine · Private, nonprofit
Graduate earnings
have graduates earning more than a typical Maine high-school graduate (about $38,000 a year). 1 falls short.
9 of 32 undergraduate programs could be assessed. The other 23: 22 with no earnings published and 1 with nothing reported. 5 verdicts use 1-year earnings, an earlier career stage.
Average net price, all families$29,351 a year By family income
What it would cost
Net price is the yearly cost after grants and scholarships, as reported for students who received federal aid.
Average for all families
$29,351 a year
About $117,404 over 4 years, if price and aid stay the same.
This multiplies the reported yearly net price by the years you choose. It is not a quote or a prediction: it leaves out interest, price rises and the chance of taking longer to finish.
Net price for every income band
| Family income | Net price per year |
|---|---|
| Under $30k | $2,397 |
| $30k to $48k | $8,958 |
| $48k to $75k | $11,336 |
| $75k to $110k | $19,468 |
| $110k and up | $45,886 |
| All families (average) | $29,351 |
College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Bands with no figure were not reported by the school.
Program earnings
Median earnings of each program’s graduates against a typical Maine high-school graduate ($38,000 a year).
9 of 32 programs could be assessed 28% have an earnings verdict
| Program | Degree | Median earnings | vs a high-school grad | Verdict | Median debt | Debt as years of gain | Recent completers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | $110,880 | +$72,880 | clears the bar | $13,000 | 0.2 yrs | 65 |
| Political Science | Bachelor's Degree | $80,714 | +$42,714 | clears the bar | $11,532 | 0.3 yrs | 54 |
| Research Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $47,3761-year earnings | +$9,376 | clears the bar (1-yr) | $13,750 | 1.5 yrs | 50 |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | Bachelor's Degree | $38,4371-year earnings | +$437 | clears the bar (1-yr) | $9,614 | 22.0 yrs | 49 |
| Biology | Bachelor's Degree | $30,6131-year earnings | -$7,387 | falls short (1-yr) | $12,850 | no earnings gain | 43 |
| Sociology | Bachelor's Degree | $42,1701-year earnings | +$4,170 | clears the bar (1-yr) | $13,442 | 3.2 yrs | 28 |
| English | Bachelor's Degree | $62,082 | +$24,082 | clears the bar | not published | not assessed | 25 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | $40,3951-year earnings | +$2,395 | clears the bar (1-yr) | not published | not assessed | 17 |
| Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $65,926 | +$27,926 | clears the bar | not published | not assessed | not published |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 29 |
| Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 26 |
| Neuroscience | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 17 |
| Physics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 16 |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 16 |
| Anthropology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 12 |
| Fine Arts | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 10 |
| Religion/Religious Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 10 |
| Area Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 9 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Philosophy | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Geology and Earth Science | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Chemistry | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Classical and Ancient Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Dance | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Theatre | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Interdisciplinary Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Music | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Engineering, General | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Liberal Arts and General Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
Sources and definitions
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid. Debt is federal loans only.
- The high-school line is ED’s state benchmark, $38,000 a year.
- Earnings not published: ED reports the program but no earnings figure, usually because too few graduates were measured. Nothing reported: ED lists the program with no figures at all. Neither is a judgement of the program.
- Debt as years of gain is median federal debt divided by how much more graduates earn per year than a typical high-school graduate. It is not a repayment time.
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