Physics at University of Dallas

At $39,000 in first-year earnings—based on six comparable Texas physics programs—University of Dallas graduates would start significantly below the national median of $47,670 for physics bachelor's degrees. The estimated $23,120 in debt sits right at national norms, but when paired with those lower projected earnings, you're looking at a debt burden equal to 59% of that first year's income. That's manageable in absolute terms, but it means your graduate would be paying off loans while earning substantially less than physics majors from larger Texas programs like Texas Tech ($57,435) or Texas A&M ($53,329).

The concern here isn't just the immediate earnings gap—it's what it suggests about career trajectories. Physics degrees typically lead to either graduate school or technical positions in industry, and those Texas Tech and A&M figures hint at better access to higher-paying employers or research opportunities. University of Dallas is a small Catholic liberal arts college with solid academics (SAT scores in the mid-1200s), but its physics program may not have the industry connections or graduate school pipeline that drives those higher starting salaries at research universities.

Given these estimates suggest earnings $8,000 to $18,000 below peer state programs, you need to know where University of Dallas physics graduates actually end up. Ask the department directly about graduate school placement rates, where alumni work, and whether they can share any actual outcome data that wasn't published due to small cohort size.