Master’s Degree/Starting Salaries by Academic Major

Graduate Admissions

National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) – 2025

Academic MajorMean25th PercentileMedian75th PercentileResponses
AGRICULTURE$69,777$53,900$62,480$88,333269
Agricultural Business and Management$58,840 $45,590 $53,000 $73,500 20
Agricultural Production Operations$55,742 $51,012 $51,012 $55,000 14
Agricultural Public Services$52,335 $47,750 $53,900 $53,900 23
Animal Sciences$56,827 $54,750 $55,750 $61,290 30
Food Science and Technology$67,627 $60,857 $62,146 $68,500 34
Plant Science$56,400 $47,030 $62,833 $62,841 56
Soil Sciences$56,591 $52,545 $52,545 $63,333 8
Veterinary Medicine$105,759 $105,068 $105,068 $105,068 65
ARCHITECTURE AND RELATED SERVICES$67,322$59,081$65,201$70,000461
Architecture$62,375 $55,511 $59,641 $68,386 149
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning$73,235 $67,929 $73,026 $78,689 97
Environmental Design$66,160 $64,875 $66,764 $66,764 25
Interior Architecture$59,206 $59,546 $59,546 $59,546 24
Landscape Architecture$59,537 $57,013 $58,833 $60,642 42
Architectural Sciences and Technology$65,586 $56,507 $66,375 $70,000 104
Real Estate Development$118,363 $79,750 $132,837 $132,837 18
AREA, ETHNIC, CULTURAL, GENDER, AND GROUP STUDIES$68,385$64,556$66,640$70,58966
Area Studies$68,701 $64,556 $66,640 $70,589 60
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies$64,898 $44,000 $66,500 $84,193 6
BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES$62,799$48,880$56,800$75,164390
Biology$57,400 $43,100 $52,463 $65,000 156
Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology$59,007 $45,000 $55,062 $67,830 14
Botany$58,993 $43,180 $62,500 $75,000 10
Microbiological Sciences$67,895 $55,506 $74,875 $84,750 12
Zoology/Animal Biology$55,726 $47,453 $58,114 $58,114 14
Physiology, Pathology, and Related Sciences$53,510 $47,599 $48,252 $62,400 46
Pharmacology and Toxicology$95,810 $63,459 $75,000 $139,000 7
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology$75,820 $63,000 $82,609 $88,833 37
Biotechnology$77,009 $81,330 $81,330 $81,330 43
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology$64,790 $52,250 $56,600 $85,400 36
Biological Sciences, Other$57,000 $57,000 $57,000 $57,000 9
BUSINESS MAJORS$89,542$71,286$81,169$101,0007952
Accounting$68,052 $64,770 $69,569 $71,286 1026
Actuarial Science$98,730 $79,360 $90,000 $122,556 1167
Business, General$97,509 $78,072 $80,000 $104,533 897
Business Administration / Management$95,808 $75,956 $88,000 $106,000 3530
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations$67,126 $54,167 $54,167 $72,000 26
Finance$78,660 $75,000 $80,250 $82,198 318
Hospitality Administration/Management$62,682 $43,614 $49,750 $85,700 39
Human Resources$76,868 $65,498 $73,646 $99,088 341
International Business$85,782 $81,000 $95,127 $95,127 34
Management Information Systems$83,011 $78,750 $83,525 $90,255 176
Marketing$67,555 $61,700 $68,683 $69,000 92
Real Estate$94,518 $81,667 $99,733 $99,733 27
Taxation$88,000 $75,000 $76,000 $90,000 26
Insurance$120,320 $124,847 $124,847 $124,847 13
Specialized Sales and Merchandising$52,500 $52,500 $52,500 $52,500 4
Construction Management$73,550 $71,000 $71,000 $78,808 17
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other$52,160 $52,160 $52,160 $52,160 37
COMMUNICATION, JOURNALISM, AND RELATED PROGRAMS$61,665$54,720$60,000$65,000338
Communications and Media Studies$61,886 $58,000 $61,136 $68,461 163
Journalism$57,287 $55,332 $55,332 $58,833 34
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication$66,266 $61,100 $63,000 $75,000 67
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication$58,877 $49,988 $56,043 $65,000 71
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES$69,239$66,500$74,056$74,05611
Graphic Communications$72,377 $74,056 $74,056 $74,056 9
COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCES AND SUPPORT SERVICES$114,144$93,002$122,206$137,6052714
Computer and Information Sciences, General$124,456 $117,657 $137,605 $137,605 994
Information Science$82,136 $46,371 $81,000 $120,542 229
Computer Systems Analysis$77,744 $65,733 $78,063 $78,063 16
Computer Science$118,284 $100,000 $122,206 $129,320 899
Computer Software and Media Applications$102,536 $90,000 $90,759 $128,500 128
Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications$105,042 $111,550 $111,550 $111,550 12
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management$103,894 $93,000 $98,721 $111,501 435
EDUCATION$56,726$49,777$55,240$62,9654258
Education, General$53,480 $50,360 $53,734 $56,327 223
Curriculum and Instruction$54,461 $51,499 $53,237 $58,508 467
Education Administration and Supervision$60,985 $53,437 $59,120 $66,000 933
Educational/Instructional Media Design$63,282 $53,253 $60,759 $72,606 87
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research$63,558 $53,937 $57,800 $70,500 30
Special Education and Teaching$56,400 $49,599 $57,801 $57,801 520
Student Counseling and Personnel Services$54,072 $48,060 $53,080 $59,080 447
Teacher Education, Specific Levels and Methods$53,660 $46,566 $50,900 $55,985 848
Teacher Education, Specific Subject Areas$56,220 $45,000 $56,981 $64,060 438
Teaching English as a Second Language$54,980 $44,500 $54,500 $59,667 56
Education, Other$56,058 $44,500 $63,611 $63,611 18
ENGINEERING$102,268$86,991$103,051$116,7914212
Engineering, General$96,264 $86,991 $87,246 $108,409 214
Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering$98,142 $96,369 $101,650 $102,304 221
Agricultural Engineering$59,038 $51,448 $63,000 $63,000 9
Architectural Engineering$82,362 $68,684 $81,730 $95,642 61
Biomedical/Medical Engineering$76,914 $70,083 $81,719 $83,350 105
Chemical Engineering$86,307 $80,000 $88,100 $92,971 75
Civil Engineering$77,175 $71,296 $76,762 $80,436 340
Computer Engineering$117,738 $114,170 $120,794 $131,715 507
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$108,475 $103,051 $113,035 $11,920 458
Engineering Physics$88,400 $80,000 $92,000 $92,000 10
Environmental/ Environmental Health Engineering$73,237 $68,667 $73,952 $73,952 30
Materials Engineering/Science$87,040 $75,250 $83,667 $100,111 44
Mechanical Engineering$91,725 $82,638 $90,015 $99,969 483
Metallurgical Engineering$82,500 $82,500 $82,500 $82,500 5
Mining and Mineral Engineering$79,864 $70,827 $77,914 $90,200 8
Nuclear Engineering$94,769 $97,500 $97,500 $104,000 5
Petroleum Engineering$74,800 $56,667 $66,000 $100,000 11
Systems Engineering$104,730 $101,679 $106,150 $113,455 148
Construction Engineering$97,826 $99,500 $99,500 $99,500 23
Industrial Engineering$89,720 $81,950 $89,590 $96,333 194
Manufacturing Engineering$99,577 $94,000 $95,000 $102,750 26
Operations Research$112,368 $107,500 $107,500 $125,000 19
Geological/Geophysical Engineering$100,455 $75,000 $110,000 $110,000 11
Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering$103,723 $100,417 $106,591 $106,591 81
Electrical and Computer Engineering$101,720 $94,829 $98,000 $108,514 41
Energy Systems Engineering$111,750 $70,000 $111,750 $153,500 4
Engineering, Other$95,424 $85,000 $93,192 $100,929 128
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES$90,432$78,625$88,357$98,578441
Electrical Engineering Technologies$87,725 $85,150 $90,300 $90,300 8
Electromechanical Technologies$126,744 $122,195 $128,694 $128,694 40
Environmental Control Technologies$82,250 $78,625 $78,625 $89,313 12
Industrial Production Technologies$74,470 $74,855 $74,855 $74,855 45
Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians$90,431 $86,623 $91,000 $95,071 34
Mechanical Engineering-Related Technologies$80,714 $80,714 $80,714 $80,714 7
Construction Engineering Technologies$76,144 $70,887 $70,887 $88,357 55
Engineering-Related Fields$92,620 $87,500 $93,167 $100,000 222
Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Other$76,726 $80,416 $80,416 $80,416 14
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS$51,727$44,500$50,000$55,186141
English Language and Literature/Letters, General$50,713 $44,500 $50,000 $54,473 97
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies$52,702 $42,000 $47,250 $65,000 39
Literature$63,800 $61,000 $61,000 $61,000 5
FOREIGN LANGUAGES, LITERATUREs, AND LINGUISTICS$59,098$50,000$56,500$65,00033
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies$55,909 $48,000 $59,000 $62,000 11
Romance Languages$65,363 $55,000 $65,000 $72,000 11
Second Language Learning$66,337 $56,500 $56,500 $56,500 5
FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES/HUMAN SCIENCES$55,909$49,240$54,997$66,200124
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General$52,604 $47,660 $53,228 $56,400 17
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies$65,300 $68,200 $68,200 $68,200 8
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services$53,438 $45,479 $56,667 $64,240 17
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services$56,405 $49,240 $54,997 $66,200 70
Apparel and Textiles$54,016 $44,720 $54,075 $54,075 11
HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS$76,850$58,500$75,000$87,7363279
Communication Disorders Sciences$66,600 $61,247 $63,642 $72,717 253
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences$185,000 $145,000 $200,000 $245,000 5
Health and Medical Administrative Services$73,105 $67,957 $67,957 $81,962 473
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions$99,566 $88,060 $111,060 $115,595 281
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Sciences$73,718 $55,132 $62,400 $93,090 17
Medicine$79,000 $79,000 $79,000 $79,000 30
Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies$45,067 $44,756 $44,756 $45,378 4
Mental and Social Health Services$53,963 $50,966 $50,966 $55,492 520
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration$78,455 $74,500 $77,222 $86,385 49
Public Health$64,039 $54,599 $58,500 $69,437 411
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions$64,083 $49,591 $58,858 $81,307 134
Medical Illustration and Informatics$70,476 $62,000 $68,875 $81,833 32
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services$55,281 $48,733 $54,080 $55,073 25
Bioethics/Medical Ethics$81,317 $80,000 $90,000 $90,000 9
Registered Nursing$94,157 $85,606 $85,606 $101,217 1011
HISTORY$62,224$52,000$54,795$82,63283
History$62,224 $52,000 $54,795 $82,632 83
HOMELAND SECURITY, LAW ENFORCEMENT, FIREFIGHTING, AND RELATED PROTECTIVE SERVICES$64,602$55,533$58,250$73,767388
Criminal Justice and Corrections$62,213 $55,086 $56,067 $58,797 227
Fire Protection$73,767 $73,767 $73,767 $73,767 44
Homeland Security$67,678 $60,000 $60,000 $77,400 52
Security Science and Technology (Cybersecurity)$63,369 $50,924 $52,962 $80,250 60
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting, and Related Protective Services, Other$75,200 $75,200 $75,200 $75,200 5
LEGAL PROFESSIONS AND STUDIES$83,378$81,500$81,500$99,073354
Law$97,826 $99,073 $99,073 $99,073 90
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies$83,265 $81,500 $81,500 $87,897 188
Legal Support Services$51,767 $52,500 $52,500 $52,500 46
Legal Professions and Studies, Other$104,390 $98,000 $98,000 $107,500 15
LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES, GENERAL STUDIES, AND HUMANITIES$77,226$74,334$87,210$87,210104
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies, and Humanities$79,519 $80,668 $87,210 $87,210 95
LIBRARY SCIENCE$53,813$51,918$51,918$58,158345
Library Science$53,841 $51,918 $51,918 $58,158 343
MATHEMATICS and STATISTICS$84,751$65,833$79,348$93,695238
Mathematics$67,928 $53,500 $64,322 $79,348 30
Applied Mathematics$87,416 $65,833 $73,530 $100,000 118
Statistics$87,488 $71,020 $92,181 $93,695 75
Applied Statistics$83,754 $65,667 $77,433 $113,500 15
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES$67,013$48,854$48,854$87,042984
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, General$61,774 $48,064 $68,700 $73,833 19
Biological and Physical Sciences$45,200 $47,000 $47,000 $47,000 5
Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution$104,250 $65,000 $102,000 $138,750 8
Systems Science and Theory$85,826 $87,333 $88,000 $88,000 23
Gerontology$54,467 $33,058 $64,280 $69,333 8
Historic Preservation and Conservation$60,797 $51,249 $59,667 $67,500 14
Museology/Museum Studies$50,125 $47,583 $52,667 $52,667 4
Behavioral Sciences$49,431 $48,854 $48,854 $48,854 501
Nutrition Sciences$70,506 $63,379 $66,125 $75,500 33
International/Global Studies$56,045 $47,500 $50,590 $59,340 8
Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies$65,520 $52,000 $75,661 $75,661 7
Computational Science$89,338 $64,000 $101,200 $112,400 6
Human Computer Interaction$124,402 $119,167 $119,167 $143,250 11
Sustainability Studies$64,597 $60,000 $60,000 $73,342 22
Data Science$92,763 $83,333 $93,419 $103,267 65
Data Analytics$93,412 $84,250 $94,167 $104,579 211
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other$82,380 $62,183 $103,636 $103,636 19
MECHANIC ND REPAIR TECHNOLOGIES$80,000$80,000$80,000$80,0009
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies$80,000 $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 9
NATURAL RESOURCES$63,686$53,713$66,000$73,005264
Natural Resources Conservation and Research$63,512 $53,713 $61,616 $70,563 146
Natural Resources Management$66,850 $65,000 $67,636 $83,175 94
Forestry$53,430 $50,000 $50,973 $54,000 15
Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management$50,557 $48,573 $48,573 $48,573 9
PARKS, RECREATION, LEISURE, AND FITNESS STUDIES$50,230$41,250$47,724$54,686215
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management$52,521 $48,796 $51,857 $56,000 16
Health and Physical Education/Fitness$50,642 $43,417 $47,724 $55,667 169
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies, Other$39,736 $39,736 $39,736 $39,736 18
Leisure and Recreational Activities$54,047 $52,800 $52,800 $57,473 9
PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES$67,071$52,500$60,000$84,0007
Philosophy$73,900 $52,500 $80,500 $84,000 5
Religion/Religious Studies$50,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 2
PHYSICAL SCIENCES$76,881$55,188$74,000$90,000157
Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology$77,122 $54,500 $62,486 $103,500 12
Chemistry$56,944 $45,568 $50,000 $63,947 31
Geological and Earth Sciences$68,148 $55,188 $72,500 $75,000 61
Physics$105,908 $85,000 $115,000 $136,933 37
Materials Science$89,651 $82,501 $83,002 $102,134 12
PSYCHOLOGY$60,298$49,079$56,912$65,000567
Psychology$52,273 $49,079 $55,000 $55,080 109
Research and Experimental Psychology$79,325 $62,863 $62,863 $130,000 21
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology$61,594 $49,401 $59,846 $69,000 430
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND SOCIAL SERVICE PROFESSIONS$62,291$53,172$59,599$64,9302079
Public Administration$71,228 $62,701 $64,250 $77,500 462
Public Policy Analysis$72,764 $60,551 $79,250 $81,129 200
Social Work$58,320 $53,172 $58,397 $62,480 1306
RESIDENCY PROGRAMS$96,000$105,000$105,000$105,0005
Nurse Practitioner Residency/Fellowship Programs$96,000 $105,000 $105,000 $105,000 5
SOCIAL SCIENCES$71,202$59,000$71,200$89,503502
Social Sciences$58,777 $45,554 $53,920 $72,000 4
Anthropology$56,253 $46,667 $52,400 $59,000 15
Criminology$56,897 $54,277 $54,277 $61,473 18
Economics$76,595 $68,711 $76,644 $80,323 97
Geography$58,358 $48,028 $56,833 $66,500 32
International Relations and National Security Studies$78,855 $71,200 $87,333 $89,503 213
Political Science and Government$55,046 $47,358 $511,875 $59,917 70
Sociology$69,478 $59,000 $72,000 $76,832 29
Urban Studies/Affairs$73,589 $65,000 $69,271 $70,000 19
THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS$49,038$37,630$44,300$52,50037
Theological and Ministerial Studies$48,830 $37,630 $44,300 $50,000 29
Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries$46,446 $33,500 $48,196 $59,393 4
TRANSPORTATION AND MATERIALS MOVING$96,195$91,500$104,537$104,537129
Air Transportation$96,551 $91,500 $104,537 $104,537 128
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS$58,158$51,778$56,425$65,718280
Visual and Performing Arts$67,375 $51,750 $66,750 $83,000 4
Design and Applied Arts$62,803 $65,718 $65,718 $65,718 104
Drama/Theatre Arts$53,385 $45,000 $50,000 $56,250 30
Film/Video and Photographic Arts$46,393 $39,520 $49,886 $49,886 13
Fine and Studio Arts$59,664 $55,987 $55,987 $65,000 34
Music$54,447 $46,700 $53,399 $56,500 58
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management$56,380 $52,597 $54,955 $61,125 36

Contact Information

Office of Graduate Admissions

Young Hall, Room 170
155 S. Grant Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2114
Phone: (765) 494-2600
Fax: (765) 494-0136
Email: gradinfo@purdue.edu

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