How much money do California State University Chico graduates make and which majors earn the most upon graduating? Six years after enrolling, alumni who are working have average earnings of $39,400 per year. After ten years, graduates earn $52,400 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 CSU graduates.
The undergraduate degree which initially pays the highest is Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing with a median starting salary of $93,500 followed by Construction Management paying $78,300 and Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians graduates who have a median starting income of $70,900 .
Looking at post-graduate and doctorate students, those completing the Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degree) program rank first with a median initial income of $64,900 followed by Social Work (Master's Degree) at $50,000 and Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) who earn $48,400 .
Note about salary data: First year earnings data are aggregated by the US Department of Education and analyzes IRS reported income for California State University Chico 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 (Bachelor’s Degree) | $93,500 |
| Construction Management (Bachelor’s Degree) | $78,300 |
| Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor’s Degree) | $70,900 |
| Computer Science (Bachelor’s Degree) | $69,500 |
| Civil Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $64,900 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degree) | $64,900 |
| Engineering, Other (Bachelor’s Degree) | $64,500 |
| Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $61,700 |
| Computer and Information Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $55,400 |
| Engineering-Related Fields (Bachelor’s Degree) | $51,900 |
| Social Work (Master's Degree) | $50,000 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) | $48,400 |
| Psychology (Master's Degree) | $46,600 |
| Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $46,400 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor’s Degree) | $45,300 |
| Agricultural Business and Management (Bachelor’s Degree) | $44,600 |
| Plant Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $42,700 |
| Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $40,300 |
| Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degree) | $38,700 |
| Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,300 |
| Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,800 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,300 |
| Social Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $30,200 |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $30,000 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,700 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,700 |
| Political Science and Government (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,100 |
| Journalism (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,800 |
| Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,800 |
| Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,400 |
| Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,000 |
| History (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,000 |
| Social Work (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,700 |
| Animal Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,400 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,400 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,300 |
| Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,800 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,500 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $24,600 |
| Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor’s Degree) | $22,600 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences Studies and Humanities (Bachelor’s Degree) | $22,300 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $22,000 |
| Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $21,800 |
| Anthropology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $20,000 |
| Area Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $19,700 |
| Music (Bachelor’s Degree) | $19,500 |
| English Language and Literature (Bachelor’s Degree) | $19,200 |
Primary data source, U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=110538 IPEDS survey and College Scorecard data for California State University Chico.