Master’s Degree/Starting Salaries by Academic Major

National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) - Summer 2023
Academic Major Mean 25th Percentile 75th Percentile
AGRICULTURE $57,599 $46,500 $67,333
Agriculture Business and Management $54,702 $40,280 $70,250
Animal Sciences $55,159 $48,500 $61,252
Food Science and Technology $74,673 $70,500 $78,486
Plant Sciences $59,078 $52,500 $75,135
Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences $53,786 $46,833 $59,000
NATURAL RESOURCES $58,632 $48,671 $71,682
Forestry $43,909 $31,000 $52,773
Natural Resource Conservation and Research $57,501 $48,581 $68,000
Natural Resources Management $64,783 $54,094 $71,682
ARCHITECTURE AND RELATED SERVICES $63,084 $53,798 $63,167
Landscape Architecture $57,439 $55,000 $59,875
AREA, ETHNIC, CULTURAL, GENDER, AND GROUP STUDIES $61,347 $50,283 $64,000
Area Studies $63,680 $52,518 $63,707
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies $46,686 $29,400 $64,000
COMMUNICATION, JOURNALISM, AND RELATED PROGRAMS $58,790 $51,290 $65,000
Communication and Media Studies $58,929 $53,889 $65,491
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication $58,243 $51,290 $65,000
COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCES AND SUPPORT SERVICES $105,894 $90,849 $129,350
Computer and Information Science $110,731 $91,000 $130,192
Computer Science $117,591 $103,888 $129,854
Computer Software and Media Applications $107,025 $104,794 $124,066
Computer Systems Analysis $85,250 $61,667 $102,938
Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications $122,131 $115,293 $115,293
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management $97,675 $75,197 $114,139
Information Science $69,521 $52,330 $71,103
EDUCATION $52,884 $46,533 $58,997
Curriculum and Instruction $51,003 $46,165 $52,875
Education Administration and Supervision $55,849 $47,036 $59,840
Education, General $59,372 $51,054 $63,523
Special Education and Teaching $50,018 $46,765 $52,500
Student Counseling and Personnel Services $51,667 $47,190 $56,369
Teacher Education, Specific Levels, and Methods $47,579 $43,315 $51,183
Teacher Education, Specific Subjects Areas $53,432 $44,737 $59,185
Teaching English as a Second Language $49,242 $44,000 $59,411
Teaching Assistants / Aides $47,857 $41,667 $41,667
ENGINEERING $98,036 $80,000 $120,482
Aerospace Engineering $90,885 $80,036 $97,517
Biomedical/Medical Engineering $75,716 $66,447 $80,664
Chemical Engineering $82,996 $78,538 $83,876
Civil Engineering $73,871 $68,500 $79,239
Computer Engineering $122,903 $119,381 $130,606
Construction Engineering $83,688 $83,500 $87,250
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering $100,291 $87,500 $116,003
Electrical and Computer Engineering $104,623 $96,497 $102,333
Industrial Engineering $88,798 $82,079 $93,834
Manufacturing Engineering $85,027 $81,667 $93,333
Materials Engineering $88,216 $81,350 $89,181
Mechanical Engineering $87,909 $79,330 $90,555
Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering $103,949 $100,750 $105,240
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES $90,607 $83,224 $94,400
Industrial Production Technologies $86,714 $83,899 $83,899
FOREIGN LANGUAGES, LITERATURES, AND LINGUISTICS $60,163 $46,963 $72,000
Linguistics, Comparative, and Related Language Studies $68,840 $54,000 $79,250
Romance Languages $53,200 $46,963 $69,000
FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES / HUMAN SCIENCES $56,850 $50,850 $64,481
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences  $57,619 $52,794 $64,481
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies $81,186 $58,016 $91,117
Food, Nutrition, and Related Services $62,692 $55,563 $67,577
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services $48,752 $43,196 $52,410
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE / LETTERS  $53,317 $44,391 $64,250
English Language and Literature/Letters $53,315 $45,103 $64,500
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES, GENERAL STUDIES, AND HUMANITIES $72,675 $59,410 $85,000
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies, and Humanities $73,725 $62,000 $85,000
BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES $68,537 $50,000 $80,000
Biology $63,395 $50,500 $69,476
Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology $72,574 $58,000 $78,917
Biotechnology $75,029 $72,760 $80,507
Pharmacology and Toxicology $77,566 $78,208 $78,208
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS $83,444 $67,802 $98,400
Mathematics $68,009 $51,500 $79,600
Applied Mathematics $80,184 $69,065 $93,391
Applied Statistics $70,780 $60,500 $75,167
Statistics $98,838 $77,706 $121,132
MULTI / INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES $71,940 $47,988 $87,779
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies $58,801 $46,333 $69,500
Biological and Physical Sciences $81,000 $65,000 $97,000
Computational Science $99,857 $64,000 $139,000
Human-Computer Interaction $103,192 $80,250 $128,160
Nutrition Sciences $55,758 $46,000 $66,429
PARKS, RECREATION, LEISURE, & FITNESS STUDIES $48,716 $40,000 $55,000
Health and Physical Education/Fitness $49,606 $41,059 $57,000
PHYSICAL SCIENCES $69,604 $56,840 $79,400
Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology $70,473 $57,750 $75,633
Chemistry $64,150 $54,000 $70,000
Geological and Earth Sciences $65,598 $58,250 $70,464
Physics $79,285 $54,080 $95,000
PSYCHOLOGY  $58,276 $49,167 $60,000
Psychology $53,005 $44,835 $57,500
Clinical, Counseling, and Applied Psychology $59,368 $49,250 $60,625
Research and Experimental Psychology $58,252 $55,621 $58,960
HOMELAND SECURITY, LAW ENFORCEMENT, FIREFIGHTING, AND RELATED PROTECTIVE SERVICES $62,354 $50,840 $70,250
Security Science and Technology (Cybersecurity) $71,688 $56,924 $66,671
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND SOCIAL SERVICE PROFESSIONS $59,542 $50,904 $64,429
SOCIAL SCIENCES $65,059 $52,160 $76,639
Anthropology $45,706 $38,280 $52,320
Economics $70,223 $59,222 $77,500
Political Science and Government $53,338 $51,500 $59,000
Sociology $54,280 $51,000 $57,000
TRANSPORTATION AND MATERIALS MOVING $84,104 $90,627 $90,627
Air Transportation $85,666 $90,627 $90,627
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS $55,812 $46,000 $66,367
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management $53,002 $46,250 $60,988
Design and Applied Arts $63,852 $66,367 $66,367
Fine and Studio Arts  $54,529 $42,500 $60,000
HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS $70,958 $54,927 $79,560
Communication Disorders Sciences $64,185 $58,747 $67,413
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention and Treatment Professions $85,904 $50,800 $106,847
Health and Medical Administrative Services $66,104 $52,000 $75,018
Medical Illustration and Informatics $74,737 $66,000 $86,514
Mental and Social Health Services $49,159 $47,667 $49,712
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration $85,927 $61,850 $100,000
Public Health $62,893 $54,927 $65,208
Registered Nursing $85,063 $74,451 $90,000
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, & RELATED SUPPORT SERVICES $87,976 $66,436 $100,200
Accounting $63,968 $61,556 $66,436
Business Administration / Management $95,198 $75,117 $113,608
Business/Managerial Economics $77,333 $81,667 $87,750
Finance $76,074 $70,261 $81,055
Hospitality Administration/Management $58,904 $50,000 $63,000
Human Resources Management  $73,856 $64,913 $85,500
Management Information Systems  $100,468 $74,883 $119,500
Marketing $70,897 $65,143 $74,296
Construction Management $82,985 $62,667 $88,000
HISTORY $53,137 $42,479 $57,936
History $53,137 $42,479 $57,936
How to Apply Apply Now Request Information

Ernest C. Young Hall, Room 170 | 155  S. Grant Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2114 | 765-494-2600

© Purdue University | Accessibility | EA/EO University | Integrity Statement | DOE Degree Scorecards | Copyright | Contact Us
Maintained by Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars (OGSPS)

Contact OGSPS at gradinfo@purdue.edu for accessibility issues with this page.