Chemistry at Lakeland University

Chemistry bachelor's degrees in Wisconsin cluster tightly around $49,000 in first-year earnings, and based on peer programs statewide, Lakeland's graduates likely land right in that range. The estimated $25,000 debt load produces a manageable 0.51 debt-to-earnings ratio—meaning roughly half a year's salary to repay. What's striking is how little variation exists across Wisconsin's chemistry programs: whether you attend UW-Madison or a smaller private college, first-year outcomes appear remarkably similar, all hovering within a few thousand dollars of each other.

The national picture reinforces this stability. Chemistry graduates from comparable programs across the country typically earn around $42,600—making Wisconsin's chemistry job market noticeably stronger than the national baseline. This suggests regional industry demand, possibly from manufacturing or food science sectors that employ chemistry graduates across the state. The debt burden here aligns with national norms for the field, neither particularly high nor low.

For families deciding about Lakeland specifically, the key uncertainty is whether this particular program actually delivers outcomes matching the state average. With estimated figures based on peer institutions, you're essentially betting that Lakeland's chemistry curriculum and career support match what UW campuses and Carthage produce. That's plausible given chemistry's standardized accreditation requirements, but without program-specific data, you're trusting that institutional differences don't significantly impact graduate success in this field.