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Michigan State Salaries

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Salaries by Major at Michigan State University

How much money do Michigan State University graduates make and which majors earn the most upon graduating? Six years after enrolling, alumni who are working have average earnings of $42,700 per year. After ten years, graduates earn $60,000 on average.

In terms of specific areas of study, the following is a ranking of degree programs by the median first-year starting salaries for Michigan State graduates.

The undergraduate degree which initially pays the highest is Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering with a median starting salary of $74,700 followed by Computer Engineering paying $72,900 and Mechanical Engineering graduates who have a median starting income of $72,600 .

Looking at post-graduate and doctorate students, those completing the Business/Commerce (Master's Degree) program rank first with a median initial income of $122,600 followed by Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) at $93,900 and Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degree) who earn $92,000 .

Note about salary data: First year earnings data are aggregated by the US Department of Education and analyzes IRS reported income for Michigan State University graduates who received federal financial aid in the form of grants or loans. Not all graduates or fields of study are represented as data for some degree programs are omitted for privacy purposes.

Median first-year earnings for Michigan State University graduates ranked by degree type and major
Major Earnings
Business/Commerce (Master's Degree) $122,600
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) $93,900
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degree) $92,000
Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degree) $86,300
Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degree) $84,000
Food Science and Technology (Master's Degree) $79,400
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $74,700
Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degree) $73,800
Computer Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $72,900
Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $72,600
Computer and Information Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $70,200
Pharmacology and Toxicology (Master's Degree) $69,200
Materials Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $68,700
Chemical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $67,400
Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor’s Degree) $64,900
Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $63,200
Engineering-Related Fields (Bachelor’s Degree) $62,800
Civil Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $61,200
Marketing (Master's Degree) $60,500
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor’s Degree) $60,400
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other (Master's Degree) $60,200
Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degree) $60,000
Human Resources Management and Services (Bachelor’s Degree) $59,700
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor’s Degree) $59,200
Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) $58,700
Agricultural Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $56,700
Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor’s Degree) $55,300
Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degree) $54,600
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degree) $54,300
Medicine (First Professional Degree) $54,100
Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degree) $52,500
Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy (First Professional Degree) $52,400
Marketing (Bachelor’s Degree) $51,300
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor’s Degree) $50,900
Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's Degree) $49,800
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor’s Degree) $47,700
Public Health (Master's Degree) $47,500
Educational Administration and Supervision (Graduate/Professional Certificate) $47,300
Physics (Bachelor’s Degree) $47,000
Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degree) $46,200
Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) $45,300
Education (Master's Degree) $44,700
Curriculum and Instruction (Master's Degree) $44,600
Agricultural Business and Management (Bachelor’s Degree) $44,300
Social Work (Master's Degree) $43,900
International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $42,700
Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degree) $42,300
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Master's Degree) $41,200
Hospitality Administration/Management (Bachelor’s Degree) $40,700
Food Science and Technology (Bachelor’s Degree) $39,600
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor’s Degree) $39,000
Chemistry (Bachelor’s Degree) $38,800
Education (Bachelor’s Degree) $38,100
Geography and Cartography (Bachelor’s Degree) $38,100
Music (Bachelor’s Degree) $38,100
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $38,000
Political Science and Government (Bachelor’s Degree) $37,700
Mathematics (Bachelor’s Degree) $37,400
Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) $37,100
Social Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $36,900
Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $36,200
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) $36,200
Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degree) $36,200
Soil Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $35,700
Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) (Bachelor’s Degree) $35,500
Animal Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $35,200
Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor’s Degree) $34,700
Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) $34,100
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology (Bachelor’s Degree) $33,900
Journalism (Bachelor’s Degree) $33,700
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Bachelor’s Degree) $33,600
Plant Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $32,900
Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor’s Degree) $32,300
Music (Doctoral Degree) $31,400
Social Work (Bachelor’s Degree) $31,300
History (Bachelor’s Degree) $30,800
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) $30,600
Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) $29,400
International/Global Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $28,800
Genetics (Bachelor’s Degree) $28,700
Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor’s Degree) $28,200
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) $27,800
English Language and Literature (Bachelor’s Degree) $27,800
Music (Master's Degree) $27,400
Liberal Arts and Sciences Studies and Humanities (Bachelor’s Degree) $27,000
Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services (Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma) $26,400
Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) $25,800
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor’s Degree) $25,500
Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $25,200
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $24,900
Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management (Bachelor’s Degree) $24,600
Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) $24,000
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) $23,900
Zoology/Animal Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) $23,200
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) $23,100
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services (Bachelor’s Degree) $21,100
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor’s Degree) $19,800
Anthropology (Bachelor’s Degree) $18,200

Primary data source, U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=171100 IPEDS survey and College Scorecard data for Michigan State University.