Where debt does not pay back

Fields with the most programs whose graduates both fall short of a typical high-school graduate's earnings and carry federal debt.

#	Field of study	Programs	Median debt	Median earnings
1	Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services	825	$8,610	$26,652
2	Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	360	$9,500	$32,550
3	Health and Medical Administrative Services	280	$9,500	$33,039
4	Dental Support Services and Allied Professions	197	$9,500	$32,045
5	Somatic Bodywork and Related Therapeutic Services	173	$7,917	$28,337
6	Fine and Studio Arts	84	$25,257	$33,320
7	Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	76	$25,000	$31,164
8	Biology, General	73	$25,738	$30,034
9	Business Operations Support and Assistant Services	71	$9,500	$31,548
10	Music	67	$25,334	$30,758
11	Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	63	$12,000	$32,875
12	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	55	$14,700	$33,225
13	Psychology, General	44	$24,566	$31,041
14	Design and Applied Arts	43	$16,417	$32,604
15	Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians	42	$7,977	$34,170
16	Business Administration, Management and Operations	40	$26,166	$32,208
17	Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	40	$11,623	$29,111
18	Culinary Arts and Related Services	38	$11,750	$33,045
19	Film/Video and Photographic Arts	31	$20,000	$32,033
20	English Language and Literature, General	29	$22,000	$31,155
21	Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	24	$23,125	$30,208
22	Sociology	24	$24,583	$31,612
23	Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	24	$8,391	$31,995
24	Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems	24	$50,000	$28,608
25	Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	23	$24,995	$33,429

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).

Counted across all credential levels: programs flagged as falling short of the state high-school-graduate earnings benchmark that also report median debt. A program appearing here is a signal to ask questions, not a verdict on any student.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (release 2026-06-10). Earnings are median earnings of graduates measured up to four years after completing, and describe past graduates rather than a promise. Method: methodology. Report an error.