How much money do University of Wisconsin Madison graduates make and which majors earn the most upon graduating? Six years after enrolling, alumni who are working have average earnings of $47,100 per year. After ten years, graduates earn $64,800 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 Wisconsin graduates.
The undergraduate degree which initially pays the highest is Computer Engineering with a median starting salary of $76,900 followed by Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods paying $74,000 and Computer and Information Sciences graduates who have a median starting income of $71,500 .
Looking at post-graduate and doctorate students, those completing the Marketing (Master's Degree) program rank first with a median initial income of $108,000 followed by Business/Commerce (Master's Degree) at $107,800 and Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degree) who earn $103,700 .
Note about salary data: First year earnings data are aggregated by the US Department of Education and analyzes IRS reported income for University of Wisconsin Madison 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 |
|---|---|
| Marketing (Master's Degree) | $108,000 |
| Business/Commerce (Master's Degree) | $107,800 |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degree) | $103,700 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degree) | $103,500 |
| Engineering (Master's Degree) | $101,400 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (First Professional Degree) | $93,800 |
| Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degree) | $82,600 |
| Computer Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $76,900 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor’s Degree) | $74,000 |
| Computer and Information Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $71,500 |
| Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degree) | $70,900 |
| Industrial Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $69,700 |
| Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $69,100 |
| Chemical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $68,900 |
| Real Estate (Bachelor’s Degree) | $68,100 |
| Insurance (Bachelor’s Degree) | $66,600 |
| Materials Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $66,300 |
| Biotechnology (Master's Degree) | $65,700 |
| Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $65,100 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (First Professional Degree) | $64,700 |
| Civil Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $64,400 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $63,300 |
| Chemistry (Doctoral Degree) | $63,200 |
| Curriculum and Instruction (Doctoral Degree) | $61,000 |
| Agricultural Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $61,000 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $60,900 |
| Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $60,700 |
| Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degree) | $58,100 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor’s Degree) | $57,800 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $57,100 |
| Geological/Geophysical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $57,100 |
| Medicine (First Professional Degree) | $56,600 |
| Marketing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $56,300 |
| Law (First Professional Degree) | $56,000 |
| Public Health (Master's Degree) | $53,500 |
| Public Policy Analysis (Master's Degree) | $52,900 |
| Food Science and Technology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $52,600 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degree) | $52,500 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $52,100 |
| Mathematics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $52,000 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degree) | $49,900 |
| General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations (Bachelor’s Degree) | $48,200 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degree) | $46,500 |
| Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $46,500 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degree) | $46,200 |
| Chemistry (Bachelor’s Degree) | $45,700 |
| Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $45,600 |
| Social Work (Master's Degree) | $44,600 |
| Agricultural Business and Management (Bachelor’s Degree) | $43,800 |
| Special Education and Teaching (Bachelor’s Degree) | $40,900 |
| Library Science and Administration (Master's Degree) | $40,900 |
| Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) (Bachelor’s Degree) | $38,100 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor’s Degree) | $37,900 |
| Journalism (Bachelor’s Degree) | $37,600 |
| Agricultural Public Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $37,300 |
| Genetics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $37,100 |
| Animal Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $36,500 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $36,500 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $36,300 |
| Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,200 |
| Political Science and Government (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,100 |
| Physics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $34,900 |
| Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $32,800 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor’s Degree) | $32,800 |
| Plant Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $32,600 |
| History (Bachelor’s Degree) | $32,600 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $32,500 |
| Social Work (Bachelor’s Degree) | $32,300 |
| Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,800 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,600 |
| International/Global Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,500 |
| Nutrition Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,400 |
| Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,100 |
| Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,000 |
| English Language and Literature (Bachelor’s Degree) | $30,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degree) | $29,200 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,000 |
| Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,800 |
| Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,100 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,000 |
| Rural Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,600 |
| Anthropology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,300 |
| Geography and Cartography (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,800 |
| Area Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,100 |
| Philosophy (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,800 |
| Zoology/Animal Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,800 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $24,600 |
| Music (Master's Degree) | $22,500 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $22,200 |
| Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management (Bachelor’s Degree) | $19,400 |
Primary data source, U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=240444 IPEDS survey and College Scorecard data for University of Wisconsin Madison.