Master's · Birmingham, Alabama

Is Biology, General at University of Alabama at Birmingham worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 14.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $38,343; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $61,849; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $25,225; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $27k (likely $27k – $27k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $3k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in AL; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 14.2 years (likely 8.5–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$162k (likely −$222k – −$103k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$79k (likely −$218k – $64k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.