DOCTORAL DEGREE · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES
Is a doctoral degree in Chemistry worth it?
Compare cost, debt and earnings across 38 college programs with reportable data.
Personal baseline needed
$116,122 in median year-4 earnings
A credible return for this credential must start with what the student would otherwise earn. The federal data does not provide that personal baseline.
$116,122Median year-4 earnings
$18,400Average institution net-price context
Not availableMedian federal debt
Start with your decision
What do you need to compare?
Outcomes at a glance
$116,122Typical earnings four years after completion
$119,287Average earnings five years after completion
Not availableTypical federal student debt
68thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
1,190Degrees awarded in 2024–25
38College programs reporting earnings
Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 38 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.
Four useful answers about Chemistry
How much do Chemistry doctoral degree graduates earn?
The national median is $116,122 four years after completion across reportable doctoral degree programs in this federal field.
How much federal debt do graduates have?
A national median federal-debt figure is not reportable for this degree in the current release.
Does the college matter for Chemistry?
Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $109,414 to $125,069 in observed year-4 earnings.
What careers are related to Chemistry?
DegreeVerdict links this field to 12 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.
More schooling changes both the cost and the outcome.
Compare the same field at each degree level with reportable data. These are separate groups of graduates, so the differences do not prove that an additional degree caused higher earnings.
OPEN PROFILE
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma
- Year-4 earnings
- $42,544
- Federal debt
- $13,818
- Programs in the comparison
- 1
Associate's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $60,787
- Federal debt
- $12,412
- Programs in the comparison
- 1
Bachelor's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $66,171
- Federal debt
- $24,000
- Programs in the comparison
- 277
Master's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $95,163
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 9
Doctoral Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $116,122
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 38
Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification)
- Year-4 earnings
- $90,234
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 1
Where the middle half of programs lands
Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.
Median
25th percentile$109,414National median$116,12275th percentile$125,069
38 programs report year‑4 earnings.BEFORE YOU CHOOSE
Compare price, debt and earnings together
SHORTLIST BY QUESTION
Three useful places to start
Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.
PRICE × EARNINGS MAP
Where colleges sit for this exact degree
Move left for a lower annual college-wide net price and up for higher observed year-4 earnings.
$148,634Observed year-4 earnings$109,414
Stanford University$13,807 price · $170,898 earningsUniversity of California, Berkeley$13,481 price · $168,396 earningsIndiana University-Bloomington$16,264 price · $148,634 earningsColorado State University-Fort Collins$21,279 price · $139,296 earningsMassachusetts Institute of Technology$20,111 price · $137,404 earningsGeorgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus$12,116 price · $137,217 earningsUniversity of California, San Diego$12,470 price · $136,333 earningsUniversity of California, Los Angeles$12,548 price · $132,569 earningsUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign$14,355 price · $131,278 earningsYale University$23,777 price · $125,373 earningsUniversity of Michigan-Ann Arbor$13,138 price · $125,069 earningsNorth Carolina State University at Raleigh$17,303 price · $123,298 earningsOhio State University-Main Campus$17,339 price · $123,152 earningsCalifornia Institute of Technology$16,075 price · $119,626 earningsJohns Hopkins University$18,809 price · $119,378 earningsUniversity of California, Riverside$14,304 price · $118,789 earningsUniversity of California, Irvine$14,251 price · $117,395 earningsUniversity of Oregon$22,182 price · $117,141 earningsNorthwestern University$29,167 price · $116,234 earningsUniversity of Notre Dame$26,780 price · $116,010 earningsPurdue University-Main Campus$14,600 price · $115,831 earningsPennsylvania State University-Main Campus$32,875 price · $115,630 earningsUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill$11,655 price · $114,619 earningsThe University of Tennessee-Knoxville$18,976 price · $114,312 earningsMichigan State University$19,680 price · $113,129 earningsUniversity of Delaware$17,799 price · $112,400 earningsUniversity of California, Davis$14,741 price · $111,674 earningsUniversity of South Carolina-Columbia$22,811 price · $110,812 earningsUniversity at Buffalo$20,995 price · $109,414 earningsUniversity of Georgia$13,936 price · $109,307 earnings
$12,116Annual college-wide average net price$26,780
Choose colleges offering this exact degree
Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.
30 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 25 shown
Search every reporting program →
See the spread, not just the national number.
1Stanford University$170,8982University of California, Berkeley$168,3963Indiana University-Bloomington$148,6344Colorado State University-Fort Collins$139,2965Massachusetts Institute of Technology$137,4046Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus$137,2177University of California, San Diego$136,3338University of California, Los Angeles$132,5699University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign$131,27810Yale University$125,373Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking
Jobs this degree may lead to
Federal education-to-career links identify related occupations. They do not imply that every graduate enters the same job.
Pay and projected demand
Related careers do not share one outlook
Bubble size = annual openings2025–35 national projection
Higher median wage ↑
-7%Projected employment growth →37%
Occupation wages describe workers in these jobs, not graduates of this degree. BLS projections are national estimates and do not guarantee hiring.
Natural Sciences Managers$167,220 median wage108,690 jobs nationwide+8.2% projected growth through 2035 · 9,200 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$79,710–$316,850 typical wage rangeChemistry Teachers, Postsecondary$93,250 median wage19,980 jobs nationwide+2.3% projected growth through 2035 · 1,700 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$57,870–$172,110 typical wage rangeChemists$91,240 median wage82,770 jobs nationwide+6.4% projected growth through 2035 · 5,900 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$58,460–$160,830 typical wage rangeChemical Technicians$60,390 median wage57,540 jobs nationwide+4.9% projected growth through 2035 · 7,600 openings a yearTypical entry education: Associate's degree$41,740–$92,040 typical wage rangeForensic Science Technicians$72,060 median wage19,120 jobs nationwide+13.3% projected growth through 2035 · 2,800 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$48,250–$117,250 typical wage rangeComputer and Information Research Scientists$140,300 median wage37,200 jobs nationwide+21.8% projected growth through 2035 · 2,900 openings a yearTypical entry education: Master's degree$82,200–$230,630 typical wage rangeData Scientists$120,230 median wage262,440 jobs nationwide+34.6% projected growth through 2035 · 24,800 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$67,240–$199,130 typical wage rangeComputer Occupations, All Other$116,580 median wage435,370 jobs nationwide+5.1% projected growth through 2035 · 27,000 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$55,940–$188,470 typical wage rangePhysics Teachers, Postsecondary$100,310 median wage13,090 jobs nationwide+2.4% projected growth through 2035 · 1,100 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$60,200–$177,850 typical wage rangeEnvironmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary$94,980 median wage6,690 jobs nationwide+2.7% projected growth through 2035 · 600 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$57,780–$164,190 typical wage rangeEnvironmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health$82,220 median wage89,250 jobs nationwide+6.1% projected growth through 2035 · 7,300 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$52,520–$140,010 typical wage rangeSecondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$72,040 median wage1,065,210 jobs nationwide-0.2% projected growth through 2035 · 63,500 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$48,780–$107,600 typical wage range
BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.
Where this degree has enough data to compare
State pages are published only when at least five operating colleges report year-4 earnings for this exact field and credential.
This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.