Main Article: More from the Georgetown CEW Study: Degree Levels, Majors, and More!

Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce has provided a tour-de-force of data on college graduation, graduate school graduation, the differences between starting salaries with the same degree from different schools, and so much more. For a data hound like me, this is pure gold! Clearly, I’m going to share some interesting highlights and takeaways, and as usual, what you believe to be true and what is true is rarely the same thing. Let’s dive in!

The first item reviewed by the CEW in their most recent publication is which programs, graduate or undergraduate, have the highest monthly income (on average), post-graduation. Based on the charts I reviewed, here are the top five: Master’s degree in Dentistry from the Ohio State University – Columbus ($19,267/month), Master’s degree in Dentistry & Oral Sciences from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor ($17,000/month), Master’s degree in Dentistry & Oral Sciences from the University of Washington – Seattle ($16,417/month), Master’s degree in Nursing from Central Connecticut State University ($15,708/month), and Master’s degree in Nursing from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota ($15,500/month). Are you seeing a pattern here? I actually didn’t find a single entry at the Bachelor’s degree level for roughly the first 50 entries in the roster (which should tell you that advanced degrees still pay out).

The first one on the list at the Bachelor’s degree level is a BS in Computer Science from Brown University ($11,758/month). When I stripped out all of the graduate programs and looked exclusively at Bachelor’s degree programs, here’s what I found: the top five highest paying programs are all in Computer Science (Brown, Carnegie Mellon, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, and Harvey Mudd College).

According to bestcolleges.com, the 10 most popular majors in the U.S. are: business, health professions (several majors fit into this category – I elected to feature Nursing), social sciences/history (again, several majors fit this one – I stuck with History), engineering, biological and biomedical sciences, psychology, communication & journalism, visual and performing arts, education, and computer/information sciences.

I then manipulated the dataset to pull the top five highest paying undergraduate degree programs in each of the individual fields. I think what you will find next is fascinating.

BUSINESS: Bismarck State College (ND) - $8,375

Villanova University (PA) - $6,917

NYU (NY) - $6,425

University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (MI) - $6,408

Carnegie Mellon University (PA) - $6,400

NURSING:

Sonoma State University (CA) - $9,192

California State Univ. – East Bay (CA) - $9,125

Sacramento State Univ. (CA) - $8,883

Samuel Merritt University (CA) - $8,533

Pacific College (CA) - $8,200

HISTORY:

Duke University (NC) - $4,283

Univ. of Pennsylvania (PA) - $4,242

Dartmouth College (NH) - $3,867

Yale University (CT) - $3,717

Williams College (MA) - $3,675

ENGINEERING:

UC Berkeley, Electrical Engineering - $9,717

MIT (MA), Electrical Engineering - $9,717

Univ. of Washington – Bothell (WA), Computer Engineering - $9,358

Carnegie Mellon University (PA), Electrical Engineering - $8,250

Duke University (NC), Computer Engineering - $7,933

BIOLOGICAL/BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE or BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING:

Univ. of Pennsylvania (PA), Biomedical Engineering - $6,192

Duke University (NC), Biomedical Engineering - $5,975

Penn State Univ. – University Park (PA), Biomedical Engineering - $5,842

Johns Hopkins University (MD), Biomedical Engineering - $5,808

Texas A&M University – College Station (TX), Biomedical Engineering - $5,792

PSYCHOLOGY:

Tufts University (MA) - $3,717

Barnard College (NY) - $3,667

Cornell University (NY) - $3,608

Colgate University (NY) - $3,592

Stanford University (CA) - $3,442 Yale University (CT) - $3,442

COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM:

Univ. of Pennsylvania (PA), Communication & Media Studies - $4,117

Cornell University (NY), Communication & Media Studies - $3,925

Boston College (MA), Communication & Media Studies - $3,808

Northeastern University (MA), Communication & Media Studies - $3,783

Univ. of Virginia (VA), Communication & Media Studies - $3,725

VISUAL & PERFROMING ARTS:

Univ. of Florida (FL) - $3,408

SUNY at Purchase College (NY) - $2,842

OTIS College of Art & Design (CA) - $2,692

Arizona State University (AZ) - $2,617

SUNY Empire State College (NY) - $2,600

EDUCATION:

Monmouth University (NJ) - $3,792

Towson University (MD) - $3,725

Univ. of Hawaii – West Oahu (HI) - $3,675

City University of Seattle (WA) - $3,433

Univ. of Minnesota – Twin Cities (MN) - $3,408

COMPUTER/INFORMATION SCIENCES:

Brown University (RI), Computer Science - $11,758

Carnegie Mellon University (PA), Computer Science - $11,575

Univ. of Pennsylvania (PA), Computer & Information Sciences - $11,267

Stanford University (CA), Computer Science - $10,533

Harvey Mudd College (CA), Computer Science - $10,375

So, what have we learned? The most obvious note should be that WHAT you major in is far more important than WHERE you get your Bachelor’s degree. The range of incomes is incredible and should help you think critically and carefully about what to do and why. It should also dictate that there are some majors (and schools) worth spending top dollar for and other majors that unless you pay the bare minimum for your education, it doesn’t make sense to dig a financial hole that you know you won’t be able to climb out of for many years.

I then narrowed my focus to California exclusively to see what the monthly income levels are for recent graduates at each step of the education scale. This one was a bit more predictable: Doctoral Degree holders brought in an average of just over $6,000/month in income. A Master’s Degree was averaging about $4,700/month in income, a Bachelor’s Degree came in at just over $2,700/month and just behind that degree is an Associate’s Degree, with monthly earnings of just over $2,550/month. So, the rule of thumb continues to hold true, the more education you possess, the more money you usually make.

What I found interesting was when the CEW factored in the debt that came with the earning of the degree(s). When looking at the best Return on Investment (ROI), it is clear that California isn’t paying out all that well. It currently ranks 36th in the nation, with just over $2,600/month in net income after accounting for school debt. In case you are wondering, the District of Columbia, Alaska and Massachusetts are the top three locales in this category.

If anything, this data should teach you to have an open mind, to do your homework, and to take the time to have a clearer understanding of what you want from your Bachelor’s degree and beyond.