Master's · Conway, South Carolina

Is Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology at Coastal Carolina University worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

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

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 3.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $58,175; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $90,842; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $30,750; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $33k (likely $33k – $33k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $34k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in SC; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 3.2 years (likely 1.9–6.3); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $133k (likely −$58k – $347k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $554k (likely $138k – $1.05M); Today's dollars

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