How much money do Illinois State University graduates make and which majors earn the most upon graduating? Six years after enrolling, alumni who are working have average earnings of $39,700 per year. After ten years, graduates earn $49,000 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 ISU graduates.
The undergraduate degree which initially pays the highest is Construction Management with a median starting salary of $64,500 followed by Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing paying $62,500 and Computer Science graduates who have a median starting income of $62,300 .
Looking at post-graduate and doctorate students, those completing the Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degree) program rank first with a median initial income of $93,200 followed by Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) at $69,900 and Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degree) who earn $60,800 .
Note about salary data: First year earnings data are aggregated by the US Department of Education and analyzes IRS reported income for Illinois 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.
| Major | Earnings |
|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degree) | $93,200 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) | $69,900 |
| Construction Management (Bachelor’s Degree) | $64,500 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $62,500 |
| Computer Science (Bachelor’s Degree) | $62,300 |
| Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degree) | $60,800 |
| Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $56,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $53,900 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor’s Degree) | $53,600 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degree) | $53,100 |
| Insurance (Bachelor’s Degree) | $52,800 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor’s Degree) | $51,100 |
| Public Health (Bachelor’s Degree) | $50,300 |
| Computer and Information Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $49,400 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $49,200 |
| Curriculum and Instruction (Master's Degree) | $44,900 |
| Mathematics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $43,600 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $43,600 |
| Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $43,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor’s Degree) | $43,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies (Master's Degree) | $42,900 |
| Special Education and Teaching (Bachelor’s Degree) | $42,600 |
| Marketing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $42,500 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor’s Degree) | $41,900 |
| International Business (Bachelor’s Degree) | $41,500 |
| Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor’s Degree) | $40,600 |
| Social Work (Master's Degree) | $40,400 |
| Agriculture (Bachelor’s Degree) | $39,500 |
| Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degree) | $39,300 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor’s Degree) | $37,600 |
| Graphic Communications (Bachelor’s Degree) | $37,200 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor’s Degree) | $36,500 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degree) | $35,900 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,900 |
| Music (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,000 |
| Political Science and Government (Bachelor’s Degree) | $34,500 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $34,000 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,700 |
| Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,100 |
| Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management (Bachelor’s Degree) | $32,800 |
| English Language and Literature (Bachelor’s Degree) | $32,100 |
| Music (Master's Degree) | $31,700 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,000 |
| History (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,000 |
| Journalism (Bachelor’s Degree) | $30,500 |
| Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $30,300 |
| Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,700 |
| Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,200 |
| Social Work (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,800 |
| Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,500 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, Other (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,400 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences Studies and Humanities (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,100 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor’s Degree) | $23,100 |
Primary data source, U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=145813 IPEDS survey and College Scorecard data for Illinois State University.