Chemistry at CUNY Lehman College

CUNY Lehman graduates 20 or fewer chemistry majors per year, so individual job placements heavily sway these numbers—but the $31,815 first-year salary deserves serious scrutiny. That's $11,000 below New York's median for chemistry grads and $3,000 below the state's worst-performing quarter of programs. While the 10th percentile nationally sounds alarming, the more relevant comparison is within New York, where this program still ranks only at the 40th percentile despite the low sticker price.

The affordability angle makes this complicated. At $12,136 in median debt—half the state average—Lehman serves a heavily Pell-eligible student body (61%) without saddling them with crushing loans. The 0.38 debt-to-earnings ratio is manageable even with depressed starting salaries. For students who'd otherwise attend a SUNY program and rack up $23,000 in debt while earning $35,000, Lehman's tradeoff might work. But chemistry majors at SUNY Oswego earn $52,000 their first year out—a $20,000 difference that compounds over time.

The fundamental question is whether this chemistry degree leads to chemistry careers or serves as a stepping stone to graduate school or other fields. If most graduates are pursuing additional education, the low debt matters more than first-year earnings. But families banking on immediate ROI from a four-year science degree should understand that stronger options exist within the CUNY and SUNY systems, even accounting for tuition differences.