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Michigan State majors and salaries
Michigan State University · East Lansing, Michigan · Public · 40,922 undergraduates
88
of 104 bachelor's programs with pay data
$74,168
median earnings 10 years after enrolling
$20,000
median federal debt at graduation
80%
graduate within six years
Computer and Information Sciences, General leads the pay table by a wide margin: $116,905 four years after graduation, against $104,627 for Computer Engineering. Anthropology graduates earned the least four years out, a median of $41,512; the top program pays 2.8 times as much. University of Arizona, Cincinnati, Texas State University, Iowa, Ohio University and Colorado State University, Fort Collins: each of these close peers trails Michigan State on median earnings ten years after enrollment.
Highest-paying bachelor's programs
Every program with earnings data
| Program | Graduates (2 yrs) | Median debt | Pay after 1 yr | Pay after 4 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | 741 | $20,382 | $82,941 | $116,905 |
| Computer Engineering | 96 | $19,500 | $88,605 | $104,627 |
| Engineering, General | 189 | $21,500 | $79,320 | $102,301 |
| Chemical Engineering | 167 | $21,500 | $78,729 | $102,223 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 748 | $19,500 | $71,484 | $102,017 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | 228 | $20,489 | $83,604 | $100,481 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 541 | $21,000 | $82,932 | $97,946 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | 47 | $22,500 | $62,236 | $97,236 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 301 | $19,541 | $65,532 | $96,093 |
| Materials Engineering | 38 | – | $80,657 | $95,761 |
| Construction Engineering Technology/Technician | 70 | $20,000 | $78,401 | $95,387 |
| Engineering-Related Fields | 314 | $19,576 | $73,673 | $94,143 |
| Statistics | 85 | $23,060 | $63,622 | $93,930 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 886 | $19,500 | $73,822 | $91,187 |
| Civil Engineering | 184 | $20,000 | $71,474 | $90,650 |
| Marketing | 512 | $20,750 | $60,083 | $90,453 |
| Agricultural Engineering | 89 | $24,276 | $63,187 | $86,498 |
| Human Resources Management and Services | 205 | $19,500 | $57,996 | $85,886 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 371 | $22,768 | $80,040 | $80,129 |
| Engineering, Other | 80 | $20,500 | $61,770 | $79,609 |
| Economics | 523 | $18,750 | $57,194 | $79,428 |
| Middle/Near Eastern and Semitic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 18 | – | – | $75,147 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies | 214 | $18,500 | $48,616 | $74,709 |
| Computational Science | 117 | $20,300 | $74,099 | – |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management | 71 | $20,500 | $58,935 | $73,880 |
| Non-Professional Legal Studies | 230 | $18,120 | $40,123 | $72,414 |
| Mathematics | 155 | $20,982 | $50,873 | $72,226 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions | 140 | $21,500 | $58,623 | $70,940 |
| Food Science and Technology | 49 | $27,500 | $60,006 | $70,380 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management | 212 | $20,156 | $54,061 | $69,651 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | 944 | $19,500 | $51,683 | $69,300 |
| Agricultural Business and Management | 114 | $15,333 | $60,048 | $69,108 |
| Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy | 50 | $20,000 | $54,195 | $68,913 |
| Soil Sciences | 44 | $12,000 | $56,925 | $67,666 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 596 | $19,500 | $35,881 | $67,290 |
| Political Science and Government | 263 | $15,000 | $42,356 | $67,032 |
| Nutrition Sciences | 75 | $15,378 | $37,940 | $66,437 |
| Chemistry | 97 | $18,666 | $46,887 | $65,983 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services | 31 | – | $23,479 | $65,667 |
| International/Globalization Studies | 128 | $19,125 | $42,306 | $64,372 |
| Biology, General | 1,108 | $20,459 | $31,266 | $64,018 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology | 223 | $20,847 | $43,040 | $63,419 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | 455 | $18,823 | $44,809 | $62,715 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences | 35 | – | $47,521 | $62,448 |
| Sustainability Studies | 66 | $24,760 | $62,210 | – |
| Sociology | 271 | $21,500 | $44,361 | $62,204 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology | 86 | $18,625 | $36,671 | $61,953 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences | 177 | $20,789 | $31,826 | $61,309 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 632 | $19,500 | $45,044 | $60,807 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 172 | $17,250 | $36,007 | $60,728 |
| Journalism | 205 | $18,500 | $41,025 | $59,498 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 68 | – | – | $59,315 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services | 76 | $19,188 | $27,940 | $58,989 |
| Social Sciences, General | 162 | $20,500 | $41,553 | $58,797 |
| Public Policy Analysis | 35 | $14,411 | $52,507 | $58,535 |
| Special Education and Teaching | 96 | $21,134 | $45,012 | $58,522 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences | 455 | $21,000 | $33,065 | $58,046 |
| Social Work | 108 | $18,100 | $29,138 | $57,321 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | 39 | – | $47,809 | $56,662 |
| Geography and Cartography | 43 | – | $41,516 | $56,515 |
| Psychology, General | 1,061 | $19,000 | $35,150 | $56,040 |
| Forestry | 42 | – | – | $55,724 |
| Genetics | 163 | $18,750 | $37,814 | $55,404 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | 83 | $19,500 | $33,317 | $55,159 |
| Animal Sciences | 273 | $20,954 | $38,523 | $54,751 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | 153 | $21,235 | $39,975 | $53,740 |
| Design and Applied Arts | 245 | $18,500 | $42,052 | $53,250 |
| Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 19 | – | – | $53,183 |
| East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 32 | – | – | $52,496 |
| Education, General | 234 | $19,500 | $48,981 | $52,243 |
| Physics | 100 | $24,088 | $52,160 | – |
| Music | 129 | $23,750 | $44,788 | $52,132 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | 0 | – | – | $51,658 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | 68 | $18,250 | $36,069 | $51,436 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 62 | $17,100 | – | $50,127 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 50 | – | $31,909 | $50,098 |
| Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management | 128 | $20,820 | $32,271 | $49,948 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management | 33 | – | $35,312 | $49,377 |
| English Language and Literature, General | 135 | $16,943 | $32,498 | $49,154 |
| Plant Sciences | 50 | $20,750 | $49,378 | $47,404 |
| History | 113 | $19,384 | $28,531 | $47,224 |
| Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians | 40 | $26,500 | $42,510 | $46,669 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | 75 | $18,392 | $31,431 | $45,167 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | 52 | $24,150 | $35,529 | $42,820 |
| Zoology/Animal Biology | 225 | $20,500 | $31,386 | $41,768 |
| Anthropology | 58 | $23,850 | – | $41,512 |
| Astronomy and Astrophysics | 54 | $18,538 | $41,394 | – |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | 26 | – | $27,059 | – |
Programs are grouped by four-digit CIP code, so one row can cover several related majors. "Graduates" counts bachelor's degrees awarded across the two years that make up each earnings cohort.
Outcomes
- Six-year graduation rate
- 80% (four-year colleges: 54% median)
- First-year students who return
- 90%
- Students per faculty member
- 17
- Median earnings 10 years after enrolling
- $74,168 (four-year colleges: $58,912 median)
- Median federal debt at graduation
- $20,000 (four-year colleges: $21,609 median)
Colleges similar to Michigan State
The six public four-year colleges closest to Michigan State in acceptance rate and undergraduate enrollment.
| College | Acceptance rate | Avg net price | Earnings after 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arizona Tucson, AZ | 86% | $17,125 | $67,414 |
| Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH | 85% | $24,917 | $60,832 |
| Texas State University San Marcos, TX | 89% | $16,660 | $60,523 |
| Iowa Iowa City, IA | 84% | $22,508 | $70,727 |
| Ohio University Athens, OH | 85% | $20,666 | $61,938 |
| Colorado State University, Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO | 89% | $22,247 | $66,947 |
Program earnings and debt come from the College Scorecard field-of-study file: median pay of graduates who were working and not enrolled, one and four years after finishing, for two pooled graduating classes. Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education and do not appear. College Scorecard data updated November 2, 2026. How these figures are built · Michigan State on College Scorecard