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Home›Majors›Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services
MASTER'S DEGREE · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES

Is a master's degree in Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services worth it?

Compare cost, debt and earnings across 26 college programs with reportable data.

Personal baseline needed

$65,918 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.

$65,918Median year-4 earnings
$20,614Average institution net-price context
Not availableMedian federal debt
Use your actual price and alternative earnings before evaluating return. Model your own starting point →
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What do you need to compare?

WHAT THIS DEGREE PAYS

Outcomes at a glance

$65,918Typical earnings four years after completion
$62,708Average earnings five years after completion
Not availableTypical federal student debt
27thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
2Degrees awarded in 2024–25
26College programs reporting earnings

Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 1 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.

A PRACTICAL READ

Four useful answers about Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services

How much do Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services master's degree graduates earn?

The national median is $65,918 four years after completion across reportable master's 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 Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services?

Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $58,640 to $70,118 in observed year-4 earnings.

What careers are related to Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services?

DegreeVerdict links this field to 6 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.

COMPARE DEGREE LEVELS

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
$41,066
Federal debt
$12,363
Programs in the comparison
1
1 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Associate's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$47,446
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
1
1 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Bachelor's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$55,659
Federal debt
$25,256
Programs in the comparison
51
51 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Post-baccalaureate Certificate

Year-4 earnings
$67,447
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
1
1 report earnings →CURRENT VIEW

Master's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$65,918
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
26
26 report earnings →
COLLEGE-TO-COLLEGE RANGE

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$58,640National median$65,91875th percentile$70,118
26 programs report year‑4 earnings.
BEFORE YOU CHOOSE

Compare price, debt and earnings together

$70,11875th-percentile year-4 earnings among reporting programs
Not availableMedian federal debt across programs that report it
0Programs with earnings in the top quarter and debt at or below the median
SHORTLIST BY QUESTION

Three useful places to start

Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.

Highest observed earnings

Framingham State University

$83,433 four years after completionFramingham, MA · inspect the full program →Largest recent graduating class

The University of Alabama

105 reported awards in 2024–25Tuscaloosa, AL · inspect the full program →
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.

$75,480Observed year-4 earnings$56,722
$3,148Annual college-wide average net price$37,050
All reporting colleges Lower-price, higher-earnings quadrantAxes trim the outer 5% for readability; outliers remain pinned to the chart edge. Price is institution-wide context, not exact program tuition.
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Choose colleges offering this exact degree

Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.

26 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 25 shown
Search every reporting program →
WHERE OUTCOMES ARE STRONGEST

See the spread, not just the national number.

1Framingham State University$83,4332CUNY Lehman College$81,8723CUNY Hunter College$75,4804Saint Elizabeth University$75,3525American University$74,5986Simmons University$74,0387Benedictine University$72,6038New York University$70,1189Central Michigan University$69,32410Indiana University of Pennsylvania$68,605

Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking

Career outlook

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

Occupation wages describe workers in these jobs, not graduates of this degree. BLS projections are national estimates and do not guarantee hiring.

Dietitians and Nutritionists$76,400 median wage77,570 jobs nationwide+7.7% projected growth through 2035 · 5,700 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$49,090–$103,720 typical wage rangeFamily and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary$75,870 median wage2,770 jobs nationwide+2.4% projected growth through 2035 · 200 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$47,830–$130,790 typical wage rangeFood Service Managers$69,390 median wage238,430 jobs nationwide+5.8% projected growth through 2035 · 38,800 openings a yearTypical entry education: High school diploma or equivalent$45,960–$107,640 typical wage rangeFirst-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$44,080 median wage1,223,240 jobs nationwide+5.4% projected growth through 2035 · 171,500 openings a yearTypical entry education: High school diploma or equivalent$29,940–$65,570 typical wage rangeDietetic Technicians$37,640 median wage31,560 jobs nationwide+2.7% projected growth through 2035 · 4,200 openings a yearTypical entry education: Associate's degree$29,720–$54,020 typical wage rangeCooks, Institution and Cafeteria$37,450 median wage441,050 jobs nationwide+2.8% projected growth through 2035 · 62,900 openings a yearTypical entry education: No formal educational credential$28,480–$49,670 typical wage range

BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.

COMPARE NEARBY FIELDS

Similar degrees in the same subject family

These alternatives share the same broad federal CIP family and credential level. Earnings and debt use the same definitions as this page.

Master's Degree

Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services

Year-4 earnings
$59,496
Federal debt
Not available
27 reporting programs →Master's Degree

Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General

Year-4 earnings
$60,766
Federal debt
Not available
10 reporting programs →Master's Degree

Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies

Year-4 earnings
$60,420
Federal debt
Not available
4 reporting programs →

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.