How much money do Western Illinois University graduates make and which majors earn the most upon graduating? Six years after enrolling, alumni who are working have average earnings of $35,000 per year. After ten years, graduates earn $46,000 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 Western Illinois University graduates.
The undergraduate degree which initially pays the highest is Engineering Technology with a median starting salary of $55,700 followed by Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing paying $55,200 and Construction Management graduates who have a median starting income of $48,900 .
Looking at post-graduate and doctorate students, those completing the Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degree) program rank first with a median initial income of $71,700 followed by Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) at $61,800 and Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degree) who earn $52,900 .
Note about salary data: First year earnings data are aggregated by the US Department of Education and analyzes IRS reported income for Western Illinois 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 |
|---|---|
| Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degree) | $71,700 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) | $61,800 |
| Engineering Technology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $55,700 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $55,200 |
| Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degree) | $52,900 |
| Construction Management (Bachelor’s Degree) | $48,900 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degree) | $48,400 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degree) | $48,000 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degree) | $47,200 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degree) | $45,600 |
| Computer and Information Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $44,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $43,200 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor’s Degree) | $40,100 |
| Special Education and Teaching (Bachelor’s Degree) | $39,400 |
| Agriculture (Bachelor’s Degree) | $38,800 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor’s Degree) | $38,700 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $37,700 |
| Marketing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $37,400 |
| Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degree) | $36,800 |
| Chemistry (Bachelor’s Degree) | $36,700 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degree) | $36,200 |
| Human Resources Management and Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,100 |
| Music (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,300 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor’s Degree) | $32,000 |
| Social Work (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,800 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences Studies and Humanities (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,100 |
| Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $30,600 |
| Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,000 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,200 |
| Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,400 |
| Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,900 |
| Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,700 |
| Political Science and Government (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,600 |
| Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,500 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,400 |
| Graphic Communications (Bachelor’s Degree) | $24,400 |
| English Language and Literature (Bachelor’s Degree) | $24,200 |
| History (Bachelor’s Degree) | $24,000 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $23,700 |
Primary data source, U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=149772 IPEDS survey and College Scorecard data for Western Illinois University.