Library Science and Administration: is it worth it?
A 0–100 score blending this major’s national earnings, ROI and typical debt. How it’s scored.
National picture across 58 college programs, at a typical net price.
The payoff is roughly break-even — the degree recovers its cost, but slowly.
What Library Science and Administration pays
Career outlook for Library Science and Administration graduates
The job market for the occupations Library Science and Administration graduates typically enter, projected through 2034 — from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. This is the demand side, complementing the IRS-verified graduate earnings above.
Top jobs for this major
| Occupation | U.S. jobs | Growth to 2034 | Median pay | Typical entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managers, all other | 1,333,700 | +4.5% | $136,550 | Bachelor's degree |
| Librarians and media collections specialists | 142,100 | +1.7% | $64,320 | Master's degree |
| Archivists | 9,300 | +3.8% | $61,570 | Master's degree |
| Library science teachers, postsecondary | 5,100 | +3.0% | $78,630 | Doctoral or professional degree |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections (2024–34) & the NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupation pay is the national median wage for the role — not the same as graduate earnings, which we draw from IRS records.
Library Science and Administration vs similar majors
How Library Science and Administration stacks up against the closest fields in Library Science on pay, debt, ROI and the DR Rating. The best figure in each row is highlighted.
| Library Science and Administration Library Science · this major | Library Science, Other | Library and Archives Assisting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR Rating | 33 F | 44 D | 12 F |
| ROI verdict | Break-even | Strong return | Poor return |
| Median earnings (5 yr) | $58,299 | $62,833 | $26,675 |
| Median earnings (1 yr) | $49,094 | $50,797 | — |
| ROI vs cost | +56% | +109% | -355% |
| Typical debt | $37,049 | $37,160 | — |
| Colleges offering it | 58 | 2 | 1 |
Library Science and Administration earnings over time
National median earnings one year after graduating, by cohort year — the consistent measure available across the federal data’s history.
Best colleges for Library Science and Administration
Ranked by the ROI of this major at each college — its graduate earnings against the cost.
| # | College | Credential | Earnings (5 yr) | Median debt | 10-yr ROI | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CUNY Queens College Queens, NY | Certificate | $69,472 | $17,509 | +957% | Strong return |
| 2 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO | Certificate | $81,087 | $46,436 | +459% | Strong return |
| 3 | Long Island University Brookville, NY | Professional | $99,701 | — | +314% | Strong return |
| 4 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA | Certificate | $65,724 | — | +277% | Strong return |
| 5 | University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD | Certificate | $68,659 | $30,750 | +220% | Strong return |
| 6 | University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA | Certificate | $64,311 | — | +204% | Strong return |
| 7 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | Certificate | $65,466 | $52,575 | +171% | Strong return |
| 8 | Florida State University Tallahassee, FL | Bachelor's | $56,864 | — | +163% | Strong return |
| 9 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC | Certificate | $60,802 | $42,364 | +155% | Strong return |
| 10 | The Catholic University of America Washington, DC | Doctoral | $77,400 | $41,000 | +143% | Strong return |
| 11 | Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX | Certificate | $62,589 | $35,345 | +124% | Strong return |
| 12 | East Carolina University Greenville, NC | Certificate | $61,566 | $30,750 | +123% | Strong return |
| 13 | Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT | Certificate | $63,169 | — | +118% | Strong return |
| 14 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA | Certificate | $80,099 | $83,905 | +117% | Strong return |
| 15 | Dominican University River Forest, IL | Certificate | $57,696 | $37,998 | +109% | Strong return |
| 16 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | Certificate | $59,296 | $38,712 | +100% | Strong return |
| 17 | University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI | Certificate | $63,530 | $30,750 | +91% | Strong return |
| 18 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX | Certificate | $59,958 | — | +88% | Strong return |
| 19 | Wayne State University Detroit, MI | Professional | $57,658 | $44,655 | +88% | Strong return |
| 20 | Texas Woman's University Denton, TX | Certificate | $56,118 | $32,685 | +86% | Strong return |
| 21 | Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY | Certificate | $53,352 | $17,684 | +66% | Break-even |
| 22 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI | Certificate | $56,672 | $35,477 | +60% | Break-even |
| 23 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC | Certificate | $55,575 | — | +57% | Break-even |
| 24 | Long Island University Brookville, NY | Certificate | $65,755 | — | +57% | Break-even |
| 25 | Wayne State University Detroit, MI | Certificate | $55,030 | $38,546 | +54% | Break-even |
Related majors
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. ROI is computed by Degree Return — see how. Read the methodology. Data as of 2024.