How much money do California State University San Marcos graduates make and which majors earn the most upon graduating? Six years after enrolling, alumni who are working have average earnings of $38,100 per year. After ten years, graduates earn $49,100 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 California State University-San Marcos 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 $83,300 followed by Computer Science paying $63,600 and Accounting and Related Services graduates who have a median starting income of $51,400 .
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 $100,400 followed by Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) at $71,700 and Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degree) who earn $62,300 .
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 San Marcos 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) | $100,400 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $83,300 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) | $71,700 |
| Computer Science (Bachelor’s Degree) | $63,600 |
| Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degree) | $62,300 |
| Education (Master's Degree) | $58,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $51,400 |
| Social Work (Master's Degree) | $48,800 |
| Computer and Information Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $45,900 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $45,300 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor’s Degree) | $43,100 |
| Physics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $39,600 |
| Marketing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $38,300 |
| Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,400 |
| Political Science and Government (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,800 |
| Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,300 |
| Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,900 |
| Criminology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,500 |
| History (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,800 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,200 |
| Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,700 |
| English Language and Literature (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,900 |
| Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,100 |
| Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,000 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences Studies and Humanities (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,300 |
| Social Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,100 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $22,800 |
| Visual and Performing Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $21,200 |
Primary data source, U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=366711 IPEDS survey and College Scorecard data for California State University San Marcos.