How much money do Columbia University in the City of New York graduates make and which majors earn the most upon graduating? Six years after enrolling, alumni who are working have average earnings of $79,000 per year. After ten years, graduates earn $107,600 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 Columbia graduates.
The undergraduate degree which initially pays the highest is Computer Science with a median starting salary of $96,400 followed by Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing paying $85,600 and Operations Research graduates who have a median starting income of $79,000 .
Looking at post-graduate and doctorate students, those completing the Law (First Professional Degree) program rank first with a median initial income of $180,300 followed by Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) at $167,700 and Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degree) who earn $146,500 .
Note about salary data: First year earnings data are aggregated by the US Department of Education and analyzes IRS reported income for Columbia University in the City of New York 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 |
|---|---|
| Law (First Professional Degree) | $180,300 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) | $167,700 |
| Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degree) | $146,500 |
| Computer Science (Master's Degree) | $132,500 |
| Operations Research (Master's Degree) | $111,500 |
| Construction Management (Master's Degree) | $107,800 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degree) | $105,600 |
| Statistics (Master's Degree) | $102,400 |
| Computer and Information Sciences (Master's Degree) | $97,700 |
| Communication and Media Studies (Master's Degree) | $97,600 |
| Computer Science (Bachelor’s Degree) | $96,400 |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology (Master's Degree) | $94,100 |
| Real Estate Development (Master's Degree) | $90,700 |
| Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degree) | $88,800 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $85,600 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degree) | $81,900 |
| Civil Engineering (Master's Degree) | $80,400 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degree) | $79,600 |
| Operations Research (Bachelor’s Degree) | $79,000 |
| Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degree) | $77,800 |
| Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $75,300 |
| Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $74,200 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (First Professional Degree) | $74,000 |
| Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $68,400 |
| Sustainability Studies (Master's Degree) | $68,300 |
| Chemical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $68,100 |
| Dispute Resolution (Master's Degree) | $68,000 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degree) | $67,400 |
| Civil Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $66,000 |
| Public Administration (Master's Degree) | $66,000 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology (Master's Degree) | $64,000 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies (Master's Degree) | $64,000 |
| Dentistry (First Professional Degree) | $63,000 |
| Medicine (First Professional Degree) | $62,900 |
| Public Health (Master's Degree) | $60,900 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology (Graduate/Professional Certificate) | $59,000 |
| Public Health (Graduate/Professional Certificate) | $58,800 |
| Architecture (Master's Degree) | $58,600 |
| Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degree) | $57,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Master's Degree) | $54,000 |
| City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning (Master's Degree) | $54,000 |
| Political Science and Government (Bachelor’s Degree) | $51,100 |
| Social Sciences, Other (Master's Degree) | $50,800 |
| Social Work (Master's Degree) | $50,700 |
| Social Sciences, Other (Bachelor’s Degree) | $49,800 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's Degree) | $45,500 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $45,000 |
| Journalism (Master's Degree) | $43,800 |
| Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $43,800 |
| Sustainability Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $42,500 |
| History (Bachelor’s Degree) | $42,100 |
| English Language and Literature (Bachelor’s Degree) | $41,500 |
| Area Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $41,300 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $40,300 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $39,600 |
| Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $39,400 |
| Anthropology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,100 |
| Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,100 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Master's Degree) | $31,600 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Master's Degree) | $25,400 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, Other (Bachelor’s Degree) | $21,800 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $19,700 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, Other (Master's Degree) | $17,500 |
Primary data source, U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=190150 IPEDS survey and College Scorecard data for Columbia University in the City of New York.